Clay

Clay ヤーコン Yacon
"The Underground Boss"
Artwork from Black and White
Gender	Male
Eye color	Brown
Hair color	Brown
Hometown	Driftveil City
Region	Unova
Trainer class	Gym Leader
Generation	V
Games	Black and White
Leader of	Driftveil Gym
Badge	Quake Badge
Specializes in	Template:Type2s
Anime debut	BW057
English voice actor	N/A
Japanese voice actor	Tsuguo Mogami

Clay (Japanese: ヤーコン Yacon) is the Gym Leader of Driftveil City's Gym, known officially as the Driftveil Gym. He specializes in Template:Type2 Pokémon. He gives the Quake Badge to Trainers who defeat him.

In the games

Clay appears in Pokémon Black and White as the Gym Leader of Driftveil City's Gym. This Gym will be the fifth to be challenged by the player. Trainers who defeat Clay will receive the Quake Badge. Shortly after, he appears on Route 6 to aid the player in removing the Galvantula web blocking the entrance to the Chargestone Cave. After his Krokorok removes the web, he gives TM78 (Bulldoze) to the player. He also reappears again at N's Castle where he and the other Unova Gym Leaders hold off the Seven Sages.

When the player is cornered by the Seven Sages, Clay is the first of the Unova Gym Leaders to march in. He asks the player if he is tired out yet, then the rest of the Unova Gym Leaders, with the exception of Cilan, Chili and Cress, walk in and take positions opposite each sage in pairs. Drayden then tells the player to proceed in pursuit of N.

Once the player gains access to the Driftveil Gym, Clay will be standing outside of the Gym, opposite Ghetsis and some Team Plasma Grunts. Ghetsis refers to Clay as the "Miner King".

When the player encounters the Driftveil Gym Leader inside of Twist Mountain on his/her first visit after obtaining the Mistralton Gym Badge, he will say that Twist Mountain belongs to him, and that the player and Cheren can train on it should they wish to do so.

One of the Trainers the player can battle inside the Driftveil Gym says that Clay is a company president. However, it is not known what business Clay actually owns. Another Trainer that can be battled inside the Driftveil Gym says that Clay stays at the bottom of the Gym to remind himself that he once had nothing. A backpacker inside the Nacrene City Pokémon Center says that Clay found fossils on Twist Mountain and donated them to the Nacrene City Museum.

Pokémon

Pokémon Black and White

Leader Clay Driftveil Gym Black and White Leader and Professor Clay Oak Driftveil Gym Black and White Reward: $3720

Types: Ground Dark Ability: Moxie Held item: None Krokorok♂ Lv.29 Swagger Normal Status   --       Torment Dark Status   --       Crunch Dark Physical   --       Bulldoze Ground Physical   --       Types: Water Ground Ability: Swift Swim Held item: None Palpitoad♂ Lv.29 Aqua Ring Water Status   --       BubbleBeam Water Special   --       Muddy Water Water Special   --       Bulldoze Ground Physical   --       Types: Ground Steel Ability: Sand Rush Held item: None Excadrill♂ Lv.31 Hone Claws Dark Status   --       Slash Normal Physical   --       Rock Slide Rock Physical   --       Bulldoze Ground Physical   --

Quotes

Pokémon Black and White

Driftveil City

"Hrmph! So yer the Trainer Elesa was talkin' about, huh. I'm Clay. I'm the Gym Leader 'round these parts. Don't be expectin' no welcome, now. 'Cause when we lowered that bridge, the Team Plasma guys we'd caught done escaped in all the ruckus!"

"Ya can say whatever ya want. But what's important is y'all showed up, and then Team Plasma escaped. Maybe it's a little heavy-handed, but you oughtta start lookin' for Team Plasma, too. Yer both talented Trainers, aren't ya? Tell ya what... If ya find Team Plasma, I'll let ya challenge my Gym! Life's all about give and take!"

Cold Storage

"Well, I'll be! Hidin' in a chilly old place like this... You guys take these Pokémon robbers!"

"You guys ain't so bad! Yup, a promise is a promise. Come on an' challenge my Gym!"

Driftveil City

"I don't need no thanks, now. Yer buddies were tryin' to steal some folks' Pokémon."

"Well, that sounds real nice, if it's true. I may not talk purty, but at least I'm an honest man. You talk real nice, but what yer sayin' kinda sounds like lyin'. So tell me plain, what are ya tryin' to say?"

"...Well, I can't tell if yer lyin' or not, but I reckon you've won this without a fight. Hrrmph. Fine. Take 'em and git!"

"Sorry to let Team Plasma go after you tracked 'em down, fellas. Say, why don't we cheer ourselves up with a Pokémon battle? Don't keep me waitin'!"

Driftveil Gym

• Before battle

"Well.. Think it's about time fer myself what it is about yer skills that makes a Gym Leader like Elesa take such a shine to ya."

• During battle (the first non-KO hit)

"Well I'll be! Sure didn't see that coming."

• After sending out last Pokémon

"Givin' up's the easy way out! If I wanted, I could have given up any old time!"

• When defeated

"Well, I've had enough... and just so you know, I didn't go easy on you."

• After being defeated

"Mrrrmph. I see. But I sure don't like it! Fer such a young 'un, ya have an imposin' battle style. I know ya got people who can dig up yer potential. Mrmph. Here! Take this!"

"So this is yer fifth Badge, huh? If that's so, Pokémon up to Lv. 60 will obey ya. Also, I'll give ya this TM. ...Well, that was the plan, but I just remembered there's somethin' I want. Wait in front of the cave at the end of Route 6, wouldja?"

"What's the problem? Go wait in front of the cave at the end of Route 6!"

"I don't know how much potential ya got, but if ya think ya can go, go wherever, and if ya think ya can do somethin', keep doin' it. Do things how ya want! Decide yer own limits."

• Post game:

"Mrrrmph! You, huh? Remember what I done told ya? If ya think ya can go, go wherever, and if ya think ya can do somethin', keep doin' it. Do things how ya want! Decide yer own limits."

Chargestone Cave

"Thanks fer waitin'. Looks like th' nest of an Electric-type Pokémon called Galvantula. Don't know why there's a nest here, but if there are folks havin' problems, th' Gym Leader's th' one ta fix it. Krokorok! Take it out! And this here TM's yours. It's my favorite TM, so ya can teach it ta all of yer Pokémon! It's called Bulldoze. This move does damage and lowers the Speed of any Pokémon it hits. Some Ground-type Pokémon move a little slower than ya'd like. If ya use Bulldoze right, ya can cover that weakness! I don't know how good you really are, but if ya think ya can go, go wherever, and if ya think ya can do somethin', keep doin' it. Do things how ya want! Decide yer own limits."

Twist Mountain

"What a surprise. Seein' ya here while I was inspectin' Twist Mountain. Th' two of ya seem a bit more rugged than the last time I saw ya. A li'l bit, anyway..."

"By th'by... You folks seen that Team Plasma crowd lately? After all the trouble, we Gym Leaders met up and had a chat. But we've got no clue where they are. It's like they're hidin' under a rock. Well, not much to do but wait for 'em to move. Anyhow, this's none o' yer concern. Squirts like the two of ya should just enjoy travelin' with yer Pokémon. Twist Mountain's a fine place to explore! You'll have some fun if you just leave this here path... Weeell... Better ya just see it yerself, 'stead o' listenin' to me yammer. Be seein' ya, sprouts! Feel free to train yerselves on my mountain fer as long's ya like."

N's Castle

"Can ya manage that?"

"Still standin', are ya, <player>?"

"Hrrmph! Ain't just me!"

"Things aren't gonna go th' way ya fellas think they are! I'm sure o' that!"

Badge Case

Ya always want to live honestly fer yerself and yer Pokémon

National Gymquirer

Jingle: "Woo hoo! All right! It's 'The National Gymquirer'!"

Page: "That's right! We collect the hottest gossip about Gym Leaders seen around town! Here is today's letter. From someone going by the name Veildrifter. Thank yooou! 'You know how Gym Leader Clay never takes off his hat? Well, the other day I finally saw him take it off... And underneath his big hat was a fluffy knit hat! He wears two hats! Weird, huh?' Hmm... That seems like it would be way too warm! Still, I wonder if that isn't just Clay's hair sticking up all funny... 'The National Gymquirer'! We eagerly await your letters!"

Sprites

Clay's sprite from Generation V	Clay's VS sprite from Generation V	Clay's overworld sprite from Generation V

In the anime

Clay in the anime

Clay made his first appearance in BW057. Ash and his friends met him right after they had arrived at Driftveil City, and Ash asked him for a battle. However, he refused to battle Ash at the time because he had to check out a mine at the edge of town. Ash would try to battle Clay again in BW059 but he refused yet again. He claimed that he could not have a battle with him if he did not have any Revival Herbs. When Ash asked what they were, Clay criticized him for not knowing and said that he probably wouldn't be worth battling. However, he did promise a battle if he brought him some Revival Herbs.

After Ash obtained the herbs in BW060, he immediately went to Clay in the next episode. He was surprised that Ash was able to get the herbs and finally accepted his challenge. Ash managed to defeat Clay and he gave him the Quake Badge.

Pokémon

This listing is of Clay's known Pokémon in the anime:

Krokorok

Debut	BW061
Voice actors
Japanese	Kiyotaka Furushima

Clay's Krokorok first appeared in BW061, where it was used to battle Ash's Oshawott. At first Krokorok used dust to blind Oshawott, allowing it to land many successful hits. However, finally Oshawott was able to clean his eyes with his own Water Gun and then defeat Krokorok with Razor Shell.

Krokorok's known moves are Dig, Sandstorm, Bite and Stone Edge.

Palpitoad ♂

Debut	BW061
Voice actors
Japanese	Akeno Watanabe

Clay's Palpitoad first appeared in BW061, where he was used in a Gym battle against Ash. He easily defeated Ash's Oshawott, after which he battled with Snivy. Snivy started by using Attract on Palpitoad, which became infatuated, thus making him unable to attack and an easy target for Snivy, which hit him with all of her attacks and finally defeated him with a Leaf Storm.

Palpitoad's known moves are Hydro Pump, Sludge Bomb and Rock Smash.

Excadrill

Debut	BW061
Voice actors
Japanese	Kensuke Satō

Clay's Excadrill first appeared in BW061, where it was used in a Gym battle against Ash's Snivy. It was easily able to block all of Snivy's attacks and then knock her out. Next Ash used Roggenrola. Thanks to its Ability Sturdy, Roggenrola could avoid being knocked out by Excadrill's Horn Drill. Later Roggenrola evolved into a Boldore and defeated the Subterrene Pokémon with its newly-learned Rock Blast and Rock Smash attacks.

According to Clay, Excadrill has been his Pokémon since he was a kid, and has helped him with digging out and expanding the mine he was working on that would eventually become the current form of the Driftveil Gym.

Excadrill's known moves are Rapid Spin, Horn Drill, Drill Run and Rock Smash.

Voice actors

Language Voice actor Japanese 最上嗣生 Tsuguo Mogami

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

File:Clay Adventures.png

Clay in Pokémon Adventures

Clay makes his first appearance reporting the discovery of a mysterious stone he found at Twist Mountain to Lenora after her Gym battle with Black. It is shown that his Pokémon are guarding the mysterious stone while the Shadow Triad spy on them from afar. Later, Clay goes to the Driftveil Drawbridge to fix it after it breaks, preventing anyone from crossing it. It was revealed that the cause of the malfunction was a Zorua that Black had met in Castelia.

Sometime later, Clay faces Black in a Gym battle and is defeated by Black's newly-captured Tirtouga. Later, they go through the Chargestone Cave and arrive in Mistralton City. They go to the Celestial Tower to meet up with the other Unova Gym Leaders.

Pokémon

Excadrill

Debut	Defeating Stoutland

Excadrill is Clay's first seen Pokémon. It was first seen guarding the Dark Stone along with Clay's other Pokémon while being spied on by a robot Roggenrola used by the Shadow Triad. Later, it was used to battle Black in a Gym battle and tied with his Tep.

Excadrill's known moves are Drill Run and Dig.

Krokorok

Debut	Defeating Stoutland

Krokorok is Clay's second seen Pokémon. It was first seen guarding the Dark Stone along with Clay's other Pokémon while being spied on by a robot Roggenrola used by the Shadow Triad. Later, it was used to battle Black in a Gym battle and was defeated by his Goura.

Krokorok's only known move is Sand Tomb.

Palpitoad

Debut	Defeating Stoutland

Palpitoad is Clay's third seen Pokémon. It was first seen guarding the Dark Stone along with Clay's other Pokémon while being spied on by a robot Roggenrola used by the Shadow Triad. Later, it was used to battle Black in a Gym battle and tied with his Musha.

Palpitoad's only known move is Hydro Pump.

Trivia

• His Japanese Leader title is アンダーグラウンド　ボス.
• All of Clay's Pokémon are at the second stage of their evolutionary lines.
• All of Clay's Pokémon are also owned by main characters in the anime, although Krokorok joined a main character's team after Clay's Krokorok's appearance.

Names

Language	Name	Origin
Japanese	ヤーコン Yacon	From yacón. May also be from 坤 kon (kun), a trigram in I Ching that represents earth.
English	Clay	From clay.
French	Bardane	From bardane, burdock.
German	Turner	Possibly from "turnip".
Italian	Rafan	From rafano, radish.
Spanish	Yakón	Same as Japanese name.
Korean	야콘 Yacon	Same as Japanese name.

Gym Leaders of the Unova region
Striaton Gym Cilan Chili Cress	Nacrene Gym Lenora	Castelia Gym Burgh	Nimbasa Gym Elesa
Driftveil Gym Clay	Mistralton Gym Skyla	Icirrus Gym Brycen	Opelucid Gym Drayden Iris
Aspertia Gym Cheren	Virbank Gym Roxie	Humilau Gym Marlon

This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.