The Unova games were the first titles in which every single important character played a recurring role in the general plot of the game. Some worked closely alongside the player at various points, such as gym leaders Burgh, Iris, and Lenora. Others were still important but had fewer appearances. Clay is one such character that didn't get quite as long of a time in the spotlight, but I'd say he made every appearance count. To this day he is one of the more memorable gym leaders in Unova because of it.

With Unova being modeled after the US (specifically New York), he embodies a certain stereotype of the American Southerner. And sure, a lot of his personality and manner of speech is based around this fact. There's more to Clay, however. You won't see it in his overworld sprite, but his official art makes it clear that he's a businessman and not a cowboy. He's a very present and dominant figure in his hometown, Driftveil City, where he resides over the region's ground type gym. Upon being defeated he hands players the Quake Badge.

Pokemon Black, White

The player first meets Clay right upon setting foot in Driftveil City. He is angry, as some Team Plasma members he had captured managed to escape in the chaos of the Drawbridge being lowered because of the player. He therefore demands you (and Cheren) to find the Plasma members and bring them back to him before allowing you to challenge your gym.

Eventually you'll find these Plasma members at the back of a container unit at the Cold Storage. Defeat them and they will get arrested.

Right as you would celebrate by whooping Clay's loud butt in a battle; you, Cheren, and Clay are greeted by Ghetsis, the leader of Team Plasma. He demands Clay to release the captured members. Clay for some reason agrees to do this??? Ghetsis called him the Miner King, so I bet they have some sort of business connection. Someone check that out!

Clay's bonehead decisions aside, we now get to beat him up! His gym is decently fun, having to press buttons on elevator platforms to go up or down a floor. I wish it was a bit bigger, but I liked that there were multiple ways to go. I kind of view it as an improvement on Byron's gym from Sinnoh. Anyway, in battle Clay can be kind of scary, mainly due to his ace Pokemon. His other two, Krokorok and Palpitoad, have some strong attacks but are generally a bit weaker on their base stats by this point in the game. His ace though is one of the strongest Pokemon in the region, Excadrill. It can set up its power and accuracy with Hone Claws, and then unleash massive Bulldozes and Rock Slides for flying type counters. It has an incredible typing of Ground/Steel, making it one of the harder Gym Pokemon in the whole game.

You'll see Clay once more in Twist Mountain, after obtaining 6 badges. He grants you the required permission to traverse it and reach Northern Unova. Who made you the boss over a mountain dude?

Finally, Clay will save the day by storming Team Plasma's Castle at the Victory Road, leading the charge of the other gym leaders. I suppose that does fit his go-getter attitude. Still, nice that they gave him the biggest spotlight there. I think it helps improve the player's opinion of him a lot, showing that he can be counted on if worst comes to worst.

Pokemon Black 2, White 2

Clay is among the gym leaders to retain their position in the sequel games. The player meets Clay in his gym for the first time. I suppose he didn't care to greet you as much as he did a few years back. His gym puzzle is altered to now involve a web of platforms connected by conveyer belts. To make it more challenging, darkness engulfs the place as you are deep underground, making you have to rely on memory and a few elevation platforms to get a better look at the puzzle. I LOVE this gym puzzle, one of my favorites. I kind of know where to go after all these years, but sometimes I still have to think and figure out how to fight every trainer on the way.

In battle he keeps the same team, except he swaps out Palpitoad for Sandslash. To be honest I think he is weaker, as his Excadrill can no longer boost its own attack. Really disappointing, I was hoping they would go the other route and make him tougher. Even in challenge mode he only adds an Onix to his team. Seriously?

Clay does show that even if he has regressed in battle performance, he has taken serious business opportunities, as he has completely transformed Southern Driftveil from some worn down storage area to a full fledged arena with a large plaza in front of it, and even some boat docks! Seriously, how did this guy get a stadium built in such a short amount of time? I can't imagine the work conditions were completely legal....

After the gym battle he takes you and Cheren to this arena and tells you to sign up for the Driftveil tournament. The game makes it impossible to lose, as all your opponents (including Cheren and your rival Hugh) are level 25. After the tournament concludes, Clay is glad that it's starting to gain more recognition, and hopes that your participation and growth will promote it even more.

Beyond the tournament, Clay has also continued his passion for mining. Next to his gym now lies a tunnel, aptly called Clay Tunnel. Who are you, just putting your name on everything like it's merchandise, Donald Trump? To be fair Clay is a business tycoon...

Still, the tunnel connects Driftveil to the Twisted Mountain, making it a very useful shortcut for the player. It's not quite finished, so you'll need some HMs to fully unlock all the shortcuts. It even has an exit into Mistralton Cave, allowing the player to get Axew earlier than before.

---

Clay is a very memorable gym leader. He is in your face and loud, causing many to either love him or hate him, with very little in between.

I initially thought he'd be some typical Southerner/Desert type trainer, but I was happy to be proven wrong and see that the business side is the intended focus of his character. I love being able to see his visions for his city come to fruition, as Driftveil is a lot more modern and developed in the sequel games. It kind of reminds me of Wattson and Mauville City in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

We rarely see gym leaders do much within their actual cities, so it's nice to see Clay live and breathe Driftveil. By bettering his hometown, he also betters the region as a whole.

Clay can be quite an ass, but he shows genuine respect for the player once he feels they have earned it. He also cares a lot for the future of the region and the people of Driftveil, wanting to increase tourism and in turn develop the city further. That epic moment in Team Plasma's Castle will always live in my head rent free too. I think he's a bit misunderstood. One of his trainers mentions that he started dirt poor and had to build up everything he has brick by brick by mining for resources. I get where his work ethic and emphasis on earning respect comes from.

Finally, we eventually learn that Clay is a family man too. In the Blueberry Academy DLC of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, 4 generations later, the player meets Lacey. She's a student there and reveals she is actually Clay's daughter! Clay himself is not present in the game, though it is mentioned he got challenged by Nemona at some point. Lacey uses the same ace Pokemon as her dad, Excadrill. To me this at least indicates some type of positive connection between the two.

You forgot to mention that his city also has the best city OST in black and white.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc_0wfIuuzw

pokemon x : That is a true point I forgot to mention. Undoubtedly up there as one of the greatest. Unfortunately this isn't a unanimous conclusion here on Vizzed...

Gen 5 as a whole has the best OST