Pyra

Pyra (, Homura) is one of the main protagonists of Monolith Soft's , the third entry in the series.

After making a cameo as a spirit in the base version of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Pyra transitioned into a playable character in Ultimate as the fourth character of.

Origin
Pyra is a, a personification of a weapon, whose purpose is to fight alongside a in the world of. She is also the, a specific legendary Blade said to have much grander powers. The protagonist Rex within a sunken on a salvaging mission, and in the following events, he becomes her Driver as they form a party searching for a way to reach, the fabled paradise atop the  said to hold a way to avoid the world's sinking continents. Over the course of her adventure with Rex, much of Pyra's past is revealed - most importantly, she is actually an alternate personality of Mythra, the true form of the Aegis who locked herself away for the guilt and regret over what she did to Alrest in the war five hundred years ago. Eventually, Rex connects with both Pyra and Mythra well enough that their trust produces a third form,, who is able to bestow Rex with additional "Master Driver" powers over Blades and the world at large.

Pyra's personality is mostly a reflection of the person Mythra wishes she was: sweet, caring, graceful, and an excellent cook. While she seems softer on the surface, she is actually the more stubborn one, and tends to take the lead more often once they begin swapping freely. Like Mythra, she is afraid of her powers, and is willing to go a long way to ensure they cannot be misused.

As a playable character
During Ultimate's development, Masahiro Sakurai considered adding characters from and Xenoblade Chronicles 2; however, as their games were announced after he completed the roster early in development in order to secure all returning fighters, he passed them over, and Sakurai chose to have Pyra be a spirit instead. Like Shulk's English voice actor Adam Howden for Super Smash Bros. 4, on June 29, 2020, before her official reveal, Pyra's English voice actress, Skye Bennett, had posted on her Twitter that she had done recording for a game that has "lots of screaming". Three years after the game's release, Pyra would be announced as the tenth DLC fighter alongside Mythra in the February 17, 2021 Nintendo Direct. A character showcase was streamed March 4th, 2021 (March 5th in some time zones), with Pyra being released later that same day.

Support spirit
Prior to the release of the Pyra/Mythra fighters, Pyra appeared as a Legend-class support spirit.

Pyra uses a puppet fighter and is fought on the Halberd's Battlefield form. She is fought along a puppet fighter representing Rex. During the battle, the floor is lava and the Fire Bar items appear, referencing Pyra's status as a Fire Blade with the ability to engulf the battlefield in flames.

Trivia

 * Pyra and Mythra are the only two-in-one DLC fighters.
 * Pyra's fighter design has been censored in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate by giving her pantyhose underneath her shorts, and adding an additional gold plate to cover the uppermost part of her butt crack. This was likely done to avoid raising the game's age rating in Japan, as Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has a higher age rating than Super Smash Bros. Ultimate there.
 * Unlike Mythra, neither of her spirits use this redesign for their artworks.
 * Additionally, Pyra's redesign does not appear as a costume in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, whereas Mythra would gain the "Massive Melee Mythra" costume in her respective game.
 * Pyra and Mythra are the third and fourth fighters to have debuted on the Nintendo Switch. The first was Byleth (who properly debuted in ' after they technically debuted in ') and the second was Min Min.

Pyra