This is a simple Gym Stadium. We can't even Dynamax our Pokémon, but well... I still hope you enjoy the battle. Now then... I'm the Gym Leader of Spikemuth, Piers, the Dark-type user!
Piers
Piers is the predecessor and older brother of the current Gym Leader Marnie and a user of dark-type Pokémon. He is also the boss of Team Yell.
Quick Answers
What type of Pokémon does Piers specialize in?
Who succeeded Piers as the Gym Leader?
What is the relationship between Piers and Marnie in Pokémon?
Who is the boss of Team Yell in Pokémon?
What is Piers' signature look in Pokémon Sword?
Appearance[]
Piers is a slim, tired-looking young man with pallid skin. His droopy cyan-colored eyes are accented with blue-gray eyeshadow. He has angular, black eyebrows and noticeable lines between his eyes, likely from constantly furrowing his brow. His long, spiky hair features a black-and-white color scheme, covering one side of his face and tied into three ponytails that have an alternating striped pattern.
He wears a black and magenta shorts jumpsuit with a cropped white jacket that features magenta diagonal stripes on the torso and spikes at the wrists. On his right hand, he sports a thumbless black glove, while his left hand is adorned with a metal wristband and a white glove. Around his waist is a belt with Poké Balls attached.
His shoes are gray, with spikes pointing backward on two bands around his shins. Black socks, which may be connected to the bands, peek out from under the shoes. The heels of the shoes are a darker gray, shaped like skulls, and the toes share the same color.
Personality[]
Piers initially appears to be quite a glum and lethargic-looking person, seemingly keeping a dull expression and having a rather apathetic attitude towards most things. Due to his general lack of attention, Piers did not notice that his Gym trainers had formed Team Yell and went around Galar causing trouble for Gym Challengers. Piers is rather blunt, often calling out others on their flaws. Although Piers doesn't consider himself a good Gym Leader, multiple Trainers such as Raihan consider him to be among the strongest Trainers in all of Galar.
When he starts singing and during battles, however, he becomes more energetic and confident, sometimes to the point of announcing his battle strategies out loud. He frequently voices his distaste for Dynamaxing as he deems it to be dangerous and unnecessary, even going so far as to not Dynamax in the Champion Cup tournament and assisting in taking down the rampage of Dynamaxed Pokémon that Sordward and Shielbert caused.
Despite his gloomy exterior, Piers is actually a caring brother and a responsible person. Piers personally caught Marnie's signature Morpeko when she was younger and wished for her to take over the Spikemuth Gym. Once Piers learned of Team Yell's shenanigans, he took control of the group and had them use their talent for causing mischief in more helpful ways. He also assisted in stopping Sordward and Shielbert's schemes and personally took the job of watch over the siblings after they were defeated.
Spikemuth lacks a Power Spot that would allow Pokémon to Dynamax, and thus not many people 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, and sent out his Gym Trainers to safeguard her in the form of Team Yell. However, he is disheartened to learn that this took the form of interfering with other trainers' efforts.
Etymology[]
Piers's name is likely derived from the word 'pierce', as piercings are popular in the punk rock style. 'Pierce' can also be used to describe a loud sound (such as "piercing music"), referring to his passion for singing. His name could also mean 'rock', which refers to the genre of music he sings.
His Japanese name likely comes from 'nezumi', Japanese for 'rat' or 'mouse', both of which are nocturnal creatures. It may also come from "nezu", the Japanese name for juniper.
Biography[]
Piers is the person who gave Marnie her Morpeko. He caught Morpeko when Marnie was five years old.
Despite being a Gym Leader, Piers did not attend the opening ceremony of the Gym Challenge. Piers is not seen until the player enters Spikemuth with Marnie's help, who was discouraged to hear that her fanbase had been sabotaging other Gym Challengers by preventing them from reaching him. When the player arrived at the concert, Piers immediately noticed them and remarked on how someone had finally come. The player beats him and he gives them the Dark Badge as proof of their victory.
Piers travels to Wyndon for the championship tournament, where he loses to fellow Gym Leader Raihan. After this, he decides to support the player character and Hop. After Leon gets held up by Rose, Piers has Team Yell help the Trainers make their way to Rose Tower.
Following the Trainer claiming the championship, Piers resigns as Spikemuth's Gym Leader, passing the title down to Marnie. He was in a mock battle with Milo when Sordward and Shielbert cause a Dynamax Pokémon rampage at the stadium. He aids the Trainer, Hop, and Milo in stopping the rampage. After this, he travels with Hop and the Trainer to stop rampages at the other gyms and to catch the villainous duo. With Sordward and Shielbert captured, Piers decides that he should be the person who keeps a close eye on them from then onward.
The Crown Tundra[]
After completing both the base game's post-game story and the two DLC stories, Piers appears as participant in the Galarian Star Tournament.
League Card entries[]
Regular League Card[]
Piers' Regular 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[]
Piers' 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!"
Other appearances[]
Pokémon[]
Gym battle[]
 Scrafty  
|
 Malamar 
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 Obstagoon 
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 Skuntank 
| ||||
| Lv. 44 | ♂ | Lv. 45 | ♂ | Lv. 46 | ♂ | Lv. 45 | ♂
|
| Ability: Intimidate | Ability: Contrary | Ability: Reckless | Ability: Aftermath
| ||||
| Item: None | Item: None | Item: None | Item: None
| ||||
| Fake Out | Night Slash | Obstruct | Sucker Punch | ||||
| Sand Attack | Foul Play | Throat Chop | Screech | ||||
| Brick Break | Psycho Cut | Counter | Toxic | ||||
| Payback | Payback | Shadow Claw | Snarl | ||||
Champion Cup rematch[]
Scrafty
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Malamar
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Skuntank
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 Toxtricity 
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Obstagoon
| |||||
| Lv. 60 | ♂ | Lv. 60 | ♂ | Lv. 61 | ♂ | Lv. 61 | ♂ | Lv. 62 | ♂ |
| Ability: Intimidate | Ability: Contrary | Ability: Aftermath
|
Ability: Reckless | ||||||
| Item: None | Item: None | Item: None | Item: None | Item: None | |||||
| Fake Out | Night Slash | Sucker Punch | Overdrive | Obstruct | |||||
| Sand Attack | Foul Play | Screech | Sludge Bomb | Throat Chop | |||||
| Brick Break | Psycho Cut | Toxic | Taunt | Counter | |||||
| Payback | Payback | Snarl | Venom Drench | Shadow Claw | |||||
Galarian Star Tournament[]
As an opponent, Piers can team up with Raihan, Opal and Marnie.
Trivia[]
- Piers's hairstyle somewhat resembles Obstagoon.
- 061, his uniform number, can be read in Japanese as 'warui', meaning 'bad'.
- He's the first-ever Gym Leader to specialize in Dark-type Pokémon. Prior to this, all Dark type specialists (except Nanu, who was a Kahuna) were members of the Elite Four.
- He is the first known "Evil" Team Leader who is never antagonistic towards the player character, as not only does he only battle the player character as a Gym Leader, but he also directly aids the player in rounding up the true threat to the region by actively using Team Yell's rebellious nature to buy the player time to confront Chairman Rose and subsequently arresting everyone who caused trouble in the post game.
- Piers can be considered as a polar opposite to another gang leader, Team Skull's Guzma. They do show disinterest in using Dynamax and Z-Moves respectively, while also deeply care to their gang members (Piers' extra case being Marnie), but their initial traits are different: Piers had always been an honorable good guy from the beginning, while Guzma was a cowardly villain prior to his redemption. Both of them are also the leaders of a villain team dedicated to sabotaging their respective region's Pokémon challenge.
- Much like Giovanni, Piers is the Gym Leader who leads an antagonistic organization.
- Piers' theme incorporates N's final battle theme and the Team Rocket Hideout theme.
- Like his sister Marnie, Piers has one Pokémon that is not a Dark type, Toxtricity. However, he only uses it after stepping down as a Gym Leader.
- Starting in Generation VIII, Poison-type Pokémon are classified as Dark types in the Pokémon TCG, similarly to how Ice types are classified as Water types and Flying types are classified as Normal types (they were classified as Grass type from Generation 1 to Generation 3 and Psychic type from Generation 4 to Generation 7).
Gallery[]
References[]
| Locations · Pokédex | |
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 Team Rocket |
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 Team Magma |
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 Team Aqua |
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 Team Galactic |
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 Team Plasma |
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 Team Flare |
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 Team Skull |
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 Aether Foundation |
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 Team Rainbow RocketUSUM | Giovanni
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 Team Yell | Piers (Adventures · anime) | ||||||||||
 Macro Cosmos |
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 Team Star |
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