Clemont

Clemont (Japanese: シトロン Citron) is a traveling companion of Ash who made his debut in Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin! along with his younger sister, Bonnie.

History
Clemont was said to be a genius when it came to Electric-type Pokémon. It was revealed in A Campus Reunion! that prior to the XY series, Clemont used to study at an academy specializing in Electric-type Pokémon in his youth, having been sent there by his father Meyer. His old teacher Éclair described him as a brilliant student, also indicated by how he was still a child when he graduated, when most other graduates were young adults or adults. Despite this, Clemont had trouble with the research for his graduation assigment. During a recreational stroll, he found an exhausted Shinx. Without hesitation, he immediately brought him to a Pokémon Center where he was quickly healed. Nurse Joy told him Electric-type Pokémon were often brought in, having lost a lot of energy. She figured they wouldn't suffer from electricity loss if there was a place where they could freely absorb energy. This gave Clemont the idea to build an invention he called the "Citronic Shower". The idea was a success, being highly acclaimed by teachers, and caused Clemont to graduate.

Returning home, Clemont eventually became the Gym Leader of Lumiose Gym in order to understand Electric-type Pokémon even better. However, he found that being a Gym Leader ate into his spare time and gave him little time to spend with his beloved inventions, so he created Clembot, a "Gym Leader robot", to stand in for him when he was busy. He programmed it to be tough on challengers and to reject challengers with less than four badges. This proved to be a mistake, as Clembot turned out to be violent and would shock Trainers whose challenge it rejected (or, as it later turned out, who lost to it) and eject them from the Gym. Clemont himself was deemed to be a rejected challenger as he had no badges. Clemont attempted to set Clembot to "Master Recognition mode" so he could reprogram it, but it hadn't registered the pass-code he expected it to, so he was ousted from the Gym and cut off from his Pokémon. He eventually gave up trying to reenter, as Clembot refused to allow him past the entrance.

In Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!, Clemont was first seen some time after his ejection from the Gym with his sister Bonnie in Lumiose City. Both were standing outside the Prism Tower when they watched Ash go inside. After Clembot ejected Ash from the building for not having any Badges, Clemont saved Ash with his Clemontic Gear while Bonnie saved Ash's Pikachu. After introducing himself, Ash challenged Clemont to a battle, which he accepted. Clemont battled Ash and his Pikachu with his Bunnelby. Despite admitting that he only just caught Bunnelby, Clemont proved to be an effective battler and managed to counter many of Ash's attacks.

The battle was interrupted by Team Rocket, who were aiming at stealing Pikachu and Bunnelby. Together with Ash and a Froakie that saved Pikachu from an attack, the trio were sent blasting off. However, Froakie had gotten injured in the battle and collapsed, so Clemont suggested they hurry to Professor Sycamore's lab. Clemont lagged behind as he was forced to carry everyone's bags.

In Lumiose City Pursuit!, Clemont helped Ash stop a rampaging Garchomp by using his Clemontic Gear's Aipom Arm to break into Prism Tower. He was unable to go any further when a part of the tower collapsed in front of him and Bonnie, but Ash managed to go on and save the day.

In A Battle of Aerial Mobility!, Clemont and Bonnie officially decided to accompany Ash on his journey through Kalos. Throughout the episode, Clemont expressed his admiration of Ash and respect for him as a Trainer. Later in the episode, Clemont demonstrated another one of his inventions, a phonograph that made a sound at high frequencies to attract bird Pokémon. Unfortunately, the machine only attracted Beedrill before completely exploding. Though it caused the group trouble, Ash said that the machine was an incredible invention which made Clemont delighted and proud.

In A Shockingly Cheeky Friendship!, he and the others encountered the Dedenne they had met before. Clemont used Bunnelby to track Dedenne after it ran off so that he could keep it for Bonnie, but Dedenne had gotten lost with Pikachu. After Dedenne and Pikachu had escaped from Team Rocket and met up with the others, Dedenne fell over from exhaustion. Using one of his Clemontic Gears, Clemont recharged Dedenne despite the machine blowing up in everyone's faces immediately after. When Team Rocket attacked the group, Clemont used Dedenne to send them blasting off with Pikachu's assistance. He then caught Dedenne and gave it to Bonnie so that she could keep it in her satchel.

In A Blustery Santalune Gym Battle!, the group arrived in Santalune City, where they met the Santalune Gym leader, Viola. Clemont and Bonnie also met her sister, Alexa, who Ash already knew well from his travels in the Decolore Islands. During their tour of the Gym, Bonnie asked Viola if she would marry Clemont, embarrassing him and leading him to drag her away with his Aipom Arm. He, Bonnie and Alexa watched the battle with Viola, cheering for Ash. Just after Ash sent Fletchling out, Serena, a girl who knew Ash from her childhood, entered the Gym and joined the audience. After Ash lost the Gym Battle, they were introduced to her properly. The three later watched Ash train with Alexa.

Later on, Clemont helped Ash train with another Clemontic Gear, a cannon that fired artificial Sticky Webs, as Ash had lost the battle against Viola as a direct result of Fletchling getting stuck to a Sticky Web. Unfortunately, when he put it onto its maximum setting, it malfunctioned, got blocked by its own ammo and exploded, though this mishap did inspire Ash to use Electro Ball to prevent Pikachu from falling asleep from Vivillon's Sleep Powder. After the training was finished, he realized that Bonnie was about to fall asleep and decided to put her to bed. The next day, he, Bonnie, Serena and Alexa cheered for Ash during his rematch and victory against Viola.

In Clemont's Got a Secret!, Clemont's father, not realizing that Clemont and Bonnie hadn't told them about their ejection from the Gym, revealed to Ash and Serena that Clemont was the Gym Leader of the Lumiose City Gym in Prism Tower. Seeing that there was no point in hiding it any longer, Clemont told Ash and Serena about how he was ousted from his position by Clembot. After seeing the damage the "strange robot" was causing to the Gym and how it was driving away potential challengers, Clemont decided to challenge the robot to a battle for ownership of the gym, although he had no idea what the pass-code was. He was forced to contend with his Magnemite and Magneton, which had been ordered to patrol the Gym by Clembot, but he eventually got to the battlefield, confronted Clembot, and started its Master Recognition mode. Although Clemont finally realized what the pass-code was, he was forced to battle Heliolisk, his own Pokémon that was under Clembot's control. Clemont battled with Bunnelby and was ultimately successful in defeating Clembot, thus gaining back the title of Gym Leader. Clemont then decided to completely reprogram Clembot and left ownership of the gym to it so he could continue traveling with Ash. That night, Ash and Clemont agreed to have a Gym Battle after the former got four badges.

In Mega-Mega Meowth Madness!, Clemont befriended a Chespin from Professor Sycamore's laboratory, later rescuing it during an attack by Team Rocket in their newest mecha. Together, they deduced a way to deactivate the mecha, but when that proved unsuccessful, Clemont commanded Chespin in battle against the mecha alongside Pikachu, but their efforts were met in vain. The mecha was then defeated by a Blaziken belonging to Blaziken Mask. The following evening, Clemont decided to capture Chespin when it expressed a desire to travel along with him and the rest of the group.

In Awakening the Sleeping Giant!, the group travelled to Parfum Palace to retrieve a Poké Flute that Princess Allie had stolen from Lord Shabboneau. Clemont refereed a battle between Ash and Princess Allie for ownership of the flute, but when Allie refused to hand it over after she forfeited, he confronted the princess directly, scolding her behavior which he considered "unscientifically selfish". Unfortunately for him, Allie was touched by his scolding, and eventually agreed to hand over the Poké Flute in exchange for Clemont himself: Clemont's horror only intensifying when Bonnie (on Serena's suggestion) agreed to it. Although the rest of the group promised they would return for him, Clemont eventually made his own escape by planting a robot decoy, and eventually reunited with his friends and sister.

In Heroes - Friends and Faux Alike!, Team Rocket, after separating Clemont from the rest of the group, disguised themselves as scientists and requested his help with a machine they were having trouble with. Not realizing who the scientists actually were, Clemont built for them a Heliolisk-shaped machine that repelled Electric attacks as well as a device that transported capsules containing Pokémon. The next day, when Team Rocket lured the group into their trap, they used the Electric-type resistant machine to steal Pikachu and then the Pokémon transporter sent it away. Clemont, furious at Team Rocket for tricking him, used Serena's guidebook and Bunnelby's Dig to locate Team Rocket and Pikachu, whereupon he used a new and improved version of an earlier machine to repel Pumpkaboo's and Inkay's attacks. With Bunnelby's help, he easily defeated the trio and Pikachu sent them blasting off.

Character
Clemont is an intelligent inventor who takes pride in his gadgets and science in general, although his devices often fail to work properly before exploding. Whenever he introduces one of his inventions, his glasses shine and he usually says, "The future is now thanks to science!", demonstrating his anticipation of situations that require the help of his machines.

Even if he takes pride in his accomplishments, he appears to be somewhat meek and modest, especially around people outside of his circle of friends. This can be evidenced in his behavior when he receives a compliment, such as in Heroes - Friends and Faux Alike!. This wish for him to not draw much attention to himself can also be reflected in his camera shyness, as seen in A Pokévision of Things to Come! when Bonnie was filming him for a Pokévision video and he was visibly shaking and stuttering, and later felt embarrassed to know that said video was being watched online. He also seemed very nervous when having a group picture taken in The Cave of Trials!.

Clemont has some confidence and self-esteem issues, and a tendency to jump into negative conclusions related to him. An example of this can be seen in An Appetite for Battle!, when, after losing practice battles against Froakie and Dedenne due to its overweight state, his Chespin ran away from the group and stayed with a lady who baked macarons for it. Clemont saw his Pokémon being happy there, but instead of noticing it was because of its love for food, he immediately thought Chespin hated him because of their loss and decided to leave it with the woman, without even showing up to interrupt them.

Clemont is not very athletic, as he easily gets tired while running, or fails to do tasks that require physical activity like gliding with a wingsuit. Despite this, if the situation calls for it, he can have a reckless side, as shown in Giving Chase at the Rhyhorn Race! when he grabbed a rock, jumped in the air, and aggressively smashed the remote that Team Rocket were using to trap all the Rhyhorn and Pikachu in a cage.

Since he holds a position of Gym Leader, he has vast knowledge about Pokémon battles and strategies, providing his friends with explanations about them when needed. Clemont is also shown to be a good cook, and he is in charge of preparing food for the group, possibly using his inventions. Serena usually helps him in this task, providing dessert for his meals.

Clemont loves his younger sister Bonnie, taking good care of her, putting her in bed when she gets tired, and being willing to catch a Pokémon for her to keep. He also tries to protect her from danger to such an extent that he does not consider risks such as his own lack of physical fitness at first, as seen in Foggy Pokémon Orienteering!. However, Clemont also easily gets embarrassed by her antics of trying to get a wife for him, causing him to become upset and drag her away with his Aipom arm when she asks women to "keep" him. He is also quick to scold her if she does something she shouldn't.

He is impressed with Ash's bravery and compassion towards Pokémon, which is what motivates him to travel with Ash, so he could become stronger himself. Due to this, Clemont usually sees Ash as a role model and a person he can count on. On the other hand, Ash is always willing to encourage Clemont, specially when he is lacking confidence in himself. Ash also admires his intelligence and abilities as an inventor, more so than his other friends, who do not react as kindly when his gadgets fail.