Piers (Pokémon)

Piers is a Gym Leader in Pokémon Sword and Shield, released in 2019. He's a fan favorite and the focus of many fanworks. He also makes appearances in Pokémon Masters, PokéAni and Pokéspe.
He is the leader of Team Yell, the eigth of many evil teams in the Pokémon series. Unlike previous teams, they do not mean evil, and are generally seen as misfits by the other characters. The villain of SWSH is usually seen as Chairman Rose for this reason.
==Canon Overview==
[characterization, story role, further important appearances]
==Relationships==
In acronym ship names, Piers is represented with "nz," short for his Japanese name Nezu. The acronyms were created by the Japanese side of the fandom mostly on Twitter before being adopted elsewhere. Common portmanteaus also originate from Pixiv unless it uses their English names.
====M/M | Yaoi====
* Piers is most commonly paired up with Raihan, forming eBoyShipping, aka PunkDragonShipping or Raipiers. In Japanese, this is most often called KBNZ or キバネズ (Kibanezu), meaning Raihan is the seme and Piers is the uke in the coupling. The opposite is also commonly shipped and is written as NZKB or ネズキバ (Nezukiba).
* Piers is also shipped with Leon, forming IpetamShipping, though DNNZ or NZDN are used more among shippers. In Japanese, this is most often called DNNZ or ダンネズ (Dannezu), meaning Leon is the seme and Piers is the uke in the coupling.
* Piers is also shipped with Emmet, forming WhiteNoiseShipping, aka EmpierShipping or KudaNezu. It appears to not be shipped in the Japanese side of the fandom.
==== F/M | NL ====
* Piers is also shipped with his sister Marnieno used name for them has been coined in Neverending Romance as of February 2025. The one listed, HotTopicShipping, is much more used for Gladion/Marnie in the fandom.. In Japanese, this is called NZMR or ネズマリ (Nezumari).
* Piers is also shipped with Sonia, forming CuteDarknessShipping, though NZSN is more used by shippers. In Japanese, this is called NZSN or ネズソニ (Nezusoni).
====Gen | Combi====
*Piers' gen relationship with his sister Marnie is also popular, forming Marnie & Piers. In Japanese, this is called スパイク兄妹 (Spike Siblings).
==== Poly ====
* Leon, Raihan and Piers are shipped together, forming PunkDragonShipping, aka FashionDisasterShipping, KBDNNZ or DNKBNZ.
===Less Popular Relationships===
*with Rose - UneasyTermsShipping, aka PunkThornshipping, RZNZ or ロズネズ (Rozunezu).
*with Victor - RawVictoryShipping, aka MSNZ, マサネズ (Masanezu), NZMS, ネズマサ (Nezumasa).
*with Hop - HopePiersShipping, aka NZHP or ネズホプ (Nezuhopu).
*with Milo - NightGardenShipping, aka Milopiers, YRNZ, ヤロネズ (Yaronezu), NZYR, ネズヤロ (Nezuyaro).
*with Kabu - BurningManShipping, aka NZKB or ネズカブ (Nezukabu)
*with Gloria - RawGloryShipping, aka NZYU, ネズユウ (Nezuyuu) or ネズ主♀ (Nezu x Female Protagonist).More can be found on Neverending Romance, a community-created relationship name list.
==Popular Tropes & Fanon==
[freeform tags, headcanons]
==Subjects of Fannish Interest & Meta==
[discourse, trivia, popular memes, character analysis, fan reactions, really anything]
==Example/Notable Fanac==
=== Awards ===
* Piers won the "Who's your favorite Galar Gym Leader?" poll in 2024 on Tumblr, conducted by pkmn-go-to-the-polls, receiving 19.6% of the vote. (~26 May 2024)
* Piers won the "Who's your favorite Dark-type specialist?" poll in 2023 on Tumblr, conducted by pkmn-go-to-the-polls, receiving 33.7% of the vote. (~03 June 2023)
=== Fan Art ===
* (2019)
===Wikis===
* on Bulbapedia
* on PixivEncyclopedia
* on Shipping Wiki
== Notes ==
==References==
Category:Pokémon Characters