Piers

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Piers (Japanese: ネズ Nezu) is a who is the boss of Team Yell and the Gym Leader of Spikemuth's Gym, known officially as the . He specializes in . He gives the to Trainers who defeat him. During the events of Pokémon Sword and Shield, he retires from his position as a Gym Leader and passes the title on to his little sister, Marnie.
==In the core series games==
Piers is the seventh Gym Leader Galarian s face in their Gym Challenge. He is well known for writing songs and singing as he regularly does so in Spikemuth. More often he tends to reveal his strategy to his opponents, yet he has the strength and skills to win regardless. Spikemuth is the only Gym in Galar not built over a Power Spot; previously, Rose had asked Piers to relocate his Gym to a faraway Power Spot, but Piers refused and opted to be the only Gym Leader not to use Dynamax. As a result, the town is rarely visited by fans, so Piers blames himself for letting his home fall into obscurity and dilapidation. He has been desperately trying to support the town with his Pokémon but often gets frustrated with the limits of his strengthSword and Shield official website.
In , Piers is the only Gym Leader absent from the Gym Challenge's opening ceremony in Motostoke. He makes his first appearance once the player clears the Spikemuth Gym Challenge, where it is revealed that the s are actually Spikemuth s in disguise, and that their leader is Piers. After the player defeats Piers, Marnie approaches him for her turn at the Gym Challenge. Their conversation reveals that Piers had previously planned to stand down as Gym Leader after the Champion Cup ended and pass down the role to his little sister. However, Marnie refused the offer, stating that she could not be a Gym Leader if she succeeds in becoming .
After Piers's initial defeat, the player is awarded with the , , and the Dark Uniform.
After the player defeats Marnie in the Champion Cup Semifinals in Wyndon, Piers rededicates Team Yell to cheering on the player instead. He and Team Yell assist the player and Hop in accessing Rose Tower by helping them find the League staff hiding the monorail key needed to reach the tower. At the Champion Cup Finals, Piers defeats Kabu in the first round, but is defeated by Raihan in the second round. During the post-game, Raihan admits that Piers gave him a good battle, despite him not using Dynamax, and later suggests that they should have a battle where neither of them uses it.
Piers plays a vital role in helping to stop the Dynamax Pokémon created by Sordward and Shielbert. Having now stepped down as a Gym Leader following the Champion Cup's conclusion, he accompanies the player and Hop to all the stadiums in Galar to help their Gym Leaders defeat the Dynamax Pokémon. After the player captures /, Piers gives them his rare League Card and returns to Spikemuth, where he can be found giving a concert to the members of Team Yell. He can also appear as an opponent in the player's Champion tournaments and the Galarian Star Tournament, despite no longer being a Gym Leader.
===League Cards===
This is a transcript of the back of Piers's League Cards in Pokémon Sword and Shield.
;Normal League Card
:"Spikemuth lacks a Power Spot that would allow Pokémon to Dynamax, and thus not many fans come to visit the town. Piers feels responsible for allowing his town to fall into obscurity and dilapidation. Once in battle, Piers tends to get riled up and will often reveal his strategy early on, but he has the strength and skill to triumph regardless. However, his true passions are singing and song writing, and his talents in these fields are well-known. As such, he currently hopes that his younger sister will take over as Gym Leader."
;Rare League Card
:"Here are some words from Piers when he first became the Gym Leader of Spikemuth. "Uh... ... ... The name's Piers. It's too bad we can't Dynamax our Pokémon in Spikemuth, but you could say we have a more authentic style of Pokémon battles. And I plan on showin' that off. And well... I have a younger sister, and she's got way more talent than me. But until she's old enough to become Gym Leader, I'll keep rockin' with my crew and make sure Spikemuth stays lively!""
===Pokémon===
Piers keeps his Pokémon in Dusk Balls.
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Piers's has maximum s invested in both and .
=====Gym battle=====
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=====Max Raid Battle partner=====
Piers uses this Pokémon in the Max Raid Battles in Turffield, Hulbury, and Motostoke Stadiums.
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=====Champion tournaments=====
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=====Galarian Star Tournament=====
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=====Caught for someone else=====
==In the spin-off games==
===Pokémon Masters EX===
Piers forms a sync pair with and in Pokémon Masters EX. Piers became a playable sync pair on February 18, 2021.
Piers has also made notable appearances in the game's Main Stories, Legendary Adventures and the Villain Arc.
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==Gallery==
===Artwork===
Concept art from
===Sprites===
Icon from the menu
===League Cards===
 	
Piers's in	Piers's rare in
==Quotes==
==In animation==
===Pokémon the Series===
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Piers debuted in Battling Turned Up to Eleven!, where he encountered and Goh when they arrived in Spikemuth, having been tricked into going there by Team Yell in the hopes of making him miss his World Coronation Series battle with Marnie. Piers took Ash to Wyndon in time to attend the match and proceeded to accompany Goh in spectating the battle.
In A Flood of Torrential Gains!, Piers watched Ash's Masters Eight Tournament match against .
====Pokémon====
====Voice actors====
====Artwork====
Official artwork of Piers and Marnie from PASH! Magazine https://twitter.com/magazine_pash/status/1491345124592340994
===Pokémon: Twilight Wings===
In Assistant, Piers was walking on the streets of Wyndon.
In Sky, Piers refused to take part in an interview about Leon in Wyndon. Later, he, Marnie, and her watched the battle between Leon and Raihan on her phone in Spikemuth.
In The Gathering of Stars, Piers was seen with the rock band Maximizers onstage. He was later seen at Wyndon Stadium, walking out onto the field for the Galarian Star Tournament's opening ceremony.
===GOTCHA!===
Piers briefly appeared in GOTCHA!.
==In the manga==
===Pokémon Adventures===
Piers debuted in Grrr!! Noble Kidnappers. At Spikemuth, Raihan met with Piers to discuss Rose's decision to disqualify Bede from the Gym Challenge. A loud sound coming from Route 9 Tunnel interrupted their conversation, and when Piers and Raihan went to investigate, they encountered a crashed Flying Taxi and Leon, who rescued the driver and the passenger, Sonia. While Raihan and Leon took the victims to a hospital in Hammerlocke, Piers was entrusted with a camera Sonia meant for Casey Shield. Piers later found Casey and her friends being attacked by Sordward and Shielbert, who were after Sonia's camera.
Piers gave the camera up but secretly removed its memory card, tricking the brothers into leaving empty handed. When Sordward and Shielbert later returned for the card, Piers, , and Casey successfully uncovered their faces. The brothers attacked Henry and Casey, but were stopped by Piers's . Before Piers could finish them off, Marnie arrived and told him to avoid going too far, allowing Sordward and Shielbert to flee. Later, after regrouping with Henry's group and Hop, Piers and Marnie revealed to everyone that they were siblings.
In Rumble!! The Horrific Darkest Day, Piers and the other Galar Gym Leaders were informed by Leon and Sonia that Rose, Sordward, and Shielbert were working together. Hoping to discover whether or not Rose intended on bringing harm to Galar, the Gym Leaders gathered at Rose Tower, only to be stopped by Oleana. While Oleana kept the Gym Leaders busy, Marnie, Henry, Casey, Bede, and Hop headed up an elevator to meet Rose, only to learn he wasn't in the building. Appearing on a video screen, Rose announced his intention to restart the Darkest Day and ensure the safety of Galar's future. Power Spot lights began appearing all over the region, causing Pokémon to start Dynamaxing at random. Piers and the others traveled to the Hammerlocke Energy Plant, where they ran into Leon's group and found Rose ecstatic that his plan was a success.
In Shock!! Chairman Rose's Plan, Rose explained he meant no harm to Galar and sent Sordward and Shielbert to defeat Eternatus and prevent the Darkest Day from spiraling out of control. Despite their claims of being descendants of the heroes that once stopped the Darkest Day, Sordward and Shielbert were unable to win, forcing Rose to take their place. Oleana explained that Rose's actions were for the benefit of Galar and requested that everyone help stop Eternatus. The group agreed and made their way to the summit, where they found Rose had already been defeated. Piers, Raihan, Leon, Hop, Marnie, Nessa, and Melony managed to take Eternatus down, only for it to get back up and unleash its Eternamax form. 
In GRRR!! The Irrepairable Gears, Eternatus quickly overwhelmed Piers and the others, only for and to appear and assist in the battle against the Gigantic Pokémon. They attempted to wield the Rusted Sword and Shield, but the items and Henry were snatched out of the air by Eternatus. Zacian and Zamazenta struck Eternatus at the same time, creating a massive blast of light. By the time the light cleared, Henry, Zacian, Zamazenta, Eternatus had vanished. Piers and everyone injured during the battle were taken to a hospital to recover from the effects of Eternatus's poison.
In PASS35, after taking special medicine, Piers and the others began to recover from the effects of the poison.
====Pokémon====
=====On hand=====
=====Traveling with=====
		
==In the TCG==
The following is a list of cards mentioning or featuring Piers or his Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
==Trivia==
* Piers was designed by take.Tweet about designing all of the Gym Leaders for Pokémon Sword & Shield
* Piers's uniform number is "061", which can be read in Japanese as for 悪い warui, meaning "bad".
* Piers and Marnie are the first Gym Leaders who specialize in Pokémon.
* Piers's battle music contains remixed parts from N's final battle theme from and the Team Rocket Hideout theme.
* Piers and are the only Gym Leaders the player character battles for a Badge that do not have a Gym slogan.
* Piers's has the maximum amount of s invested in two of its stats, unlike most Trainers in Sword and Shield. This is likely to make up for the lack of Dynamax in his Gym.
* Piers is the only core series villainous team leader to date who never uses a related to his team. His title as Team Yell's Captain is only revealed in the title of the music for his battle.
==Names==
Language 	Name 	Origin
Japanese 	ネズ Nezu 	From 杜松 nezu () and possibly from 鼠色 nezumiiro (dark gray)
English 	Piers 	From the genus and pierce or piercing, a common fashion accessory in the punk subculture
German 	Nezz 	Similar to his Japanese name
Spanish 	Nerio 	From enebro (juniper) and possibly negro (black)
French 	Peterson 	From peteron ()
Italian 	Ginepro 	From ginepro (juniper) and possibly nero (black)
Korean 	두송 Dusong 	From 두송 (杜松) dusong (temple juniper)
Chinese () 	聶梓 / 聂梓 Nièzǐ 	From the transcription of his Japanese name and possibly 梓 zǐ ()
Chinese () 	聶梓 Nihpjí 	From the transcription of his Japanese name and possibly 梓 zǐ ()
Brazilian Portuguese	Pietro 	From junípero (juniper) and possibly preto (black)
==References==
==Related articles==
* Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
Category:Sword and Shield characters
Category:Gym Leaders
Category:Villainous team leaders
Category:Members of Team Yell
Category:Dark-type Trainers
Category:Multi Battle partners
Category:Musicians (characters)
Category:Animation characters
Category:Pokémon Adventures characters
de:Nezz
es:Nerio
fr:Peterson
it:Ginepro
ja:ネズ
zh:聶梓