Clyde is the last ghost to leave the ghost house at the start of a Pac-Man game.
In the original arcade game, Blinky begins outside the house and immediately pursues Pac-Man. Pinky is released next, followed by Inky, while Clyde is normally the final ghost to emerge. This staggered release prevents all four ghosts from attacking at once and gives the player a short opportunity to collect dots and establish a route.
The release system is controlled by dot counters and, in some situations, timers. On the first level, Clyde's release is commonly associated with Pac-Man having eaten 32 dots, though the exact timing can change if the player stops eating dots or loses a life. That is why experienced players sometimes manipulate dot consumption to control when ghosts emerge.
Clyde is orange and has a less direct personality than Blinky. Rather than relentlessly chasing Pac-Man, he retreats toward his corner when Pac-Man gets close, which earned him the nickname “Pokey” in the original game's character descriptions.