Clair: The Blackthorn Gym Leader Who Won't Give Up Her Badge

She won't hand over her badge without one last test. Clair guards the Blackthorn City Gym, at the very end of the Johto journey, and champions the Dragon type on behalf of a clan that has revered these Pokémon for generations. Her cousin Lance belongs to the same bloodline. Beating Clair isn't enough, though: you still have to go prove something to her in the Dragon's Den.

Contents

• Blackthorn City, the Rising Badge and an Extra Test
• The Rematch, the Double Battle and the Unova Tournament
• In the Anime, a Match Interrupted by Team Rocket
• In the Manga, an Investigation into Lance's Disappearance
• The Mobile Game, the Cards and Two Curiosities
• Clair at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Blackthorn City, the Rising Badge and an Extra Test

Clair holds the eighth and final Gym of the Johto League. The badge she awards, the Rising Badge, opens the road to the Indigo Plateau and with it access to the Elite Four: it's the last hurdle before the League.

Except that winning isn't enough. Stung by her defeat, the Gym Leader keeps the badge to herself and sends the Trainer to the Dragon's Den for an extra test. So the Johto journey ends with a formality that's anything but.

This demand is no isolated whim: Clair belongs to a clan of dragon Trainers that has revered these Pokémon for generations. Her cousin Lance comes from the same bloodline and also works as a Dragon Tamer.

🐉 Dragons have their own section: see the Pokémon figures.

The Rematch, the Double Battle and the Unova Tournament

In HeartGold and SoulSilver, Clair agrees to a second match, but you first have to get her number. She trains every morning in the Dragon's Den, between 6:00 and 10:00 a.m.: that's where you run into her, and where you leave with her number saved in your Pokégear.

Once you've made the call, the battle takes place at the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City, and only during the night between Friday and Saturday. The same Den serves as the backdrop for another scene: after his defeat at Mt. Moon, the rival Silver comes there to train, and Clair can show up alongside Lance for a Double Battle against the two young Trainers.

Black 2 and White 2 take her out of Johto and enter her in the Pokémon World Tournament, where she competes in several brackets, including the Johto Leaders Tournament and the Type Expert Tournament for Dragon-type specialists. The format adjusts her roster — three Pokémon in Single Battles, four in Double and Rotation Battles, all six in Triple Battles.

In the Anime, a Match Interrupted by Team Rocket

The series introduces her during the Johto saga. Her first match against Ash initially goes her way, before being cut short: Team Rocket goes after a sacred object kept in a temple in the city, and Clair leaves the field to chase after them.

The affair leaves behind a Dragonite, the guardian of a valley, that the thieves have driven into a rage; Clair calms it down with the help of Ash and his Charizard. The match only resumes afterward, and Ash, aware that his usual team wouldn't hold up against dragons, rebuilds it around his Snorlax and that same Charizard — the badge he earns opens the way to the Silver Conference.

The moves recorded for her appearances mostly revolve around a Dragonair with a broad move pool: Twister, Hyper Beam, Dragon Rage, Thunder Wave, Rain Dance. She turns up again much later, during the Black and White saga, in the Decolore Islands, on the trail of a Shiny Druddigon; there she impresses Iris, whom she battles in a special episode.

In the Manga, an Investigation into Lance's Disappearance

The manga adaptation gives her an unexpected role: she's the first Gym Leader Suicune comes to challenge. She loses, but draws the right conclusion from her defeat — the Legendary isn't looking for an opponent, it's looking for a Trainer worthy of it.

The thread that carries her from then on is a family one. At the Pokémon League tournament, her opponent Blaine falls ill and the match is called off; suspecting him of being tied to the army led by the Masked Man, Clair tracks him down and battles him aboard the Magnet Train. He strikes back with Entei and tells her that Lance is most likely still alive.

She then stays aboard to fight the mind-controlled Grunts. Her last contribution is a cut-off message: a call with Lance was interrupted, and all she could make out were three words — Arceus, Plates, Safari Zone.

The Mobile Game, the Cards and Two Curiosities

The mobile game Pokémon Masters EX has featured her since launch, and she appears there in two outfits. In her HeartGold and SoulSilver version, she forms a sync pair with a Kingdra, and her profile stresses a pride that matches her dragons'.

The second outfit, released for New Year's, shows her in the traditional clothing of her region, alongside a Drampa that children adore. Her stated ambition fits in one sentence: to make this pair the best Dragon-type duo.

On the card side, her first appearances date back to a Japanese expansion released on August 19, 2001. Two details round out the portrait: she shares the same signature Pokémon, Kingdra, with Juan, the eighth Gym Leader of his own region, and in Pokémon Stadium 2 she is the only Johto Gym Leader who fields no Normal-type Pokémon.

Clair at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Where is Clair's Gym?
  In Blackthorn City, the eighth and final stop of the Johto League. There she awards the Rising Badge, which grants access to the Indigo Plateau and the Elite Four.
• Why doesn't Clair hand over her badge right away?
  Because losing hurt her pride. She keeps the badge and sends the Trainer to take an extra test in the Dragon's Den before giving it up.
• What is the connection between Clair and Lance?
  They're cousins from the same clan of dragon Trainers, and Lance is a Dragon Tamer like her. They can team up for a Double Battle in the Dragon's Den, and the manga makes Lance's disappearance Clair's driving force.
• How do you get a rematch against Clair?
  In HeartGold and SoulSilver, you need to meet her during her morning training in the Dragon's Den, between 6:00 and 10:00 a.m., to get her number. The battle then takes place at the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City, on the night between Friday and Saturday.
• What is Clair's signature Pokémon?
  Kingdra. Fun fact: Juan, the eighth Gym Leader of his own region, has exactly the same signature Pokémon.

In short

Clair closes out the Johto journey with one more demand than the others: the Rising Badge has to be won twice, in the Gym and then in the Dragon's Den. The other media extend the same idea of a Trainer who's never satisfied with the bare result — a defeat against Suicune she draws the right lesson from, a missing cousin she goes looking for all the way onto a train. Rarely has the Dragon type been defended so stubbornly.