Editing Byleth

:''For fighter info, see [[Byleth (SSBU)]].''

|caption = [[File:FireEmblemSymbol.svg|50px]]

Official artwork of Byleth from ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem: Three Houses}}''.

|lastappearance = ''{{s|harddrop|Tetris 99}}'' (2019, cameo)

|console = Nintendo Switch

|species = {{s|fireemblemwiki|Human}}/[[fireemblemwiki:God|Deity]] hybrid

|artist = Chinatsu Kurahana

|englishactor = ♂: Zach Aguilar<br>♀: Jeannie Tirado

|japanactor = ♂: {{s|wikipedia|Yūsuke Kobayashi|voice actor}}<br>♀: {{s|wikipedia|Shizuka Itō}}

'''Byleth''' (♂: {{ja|ベレト|Bereto}}, ♀: {{ja|ベレス|Beresu}}, ''Byleth'') is the default name for the player character in ''{{s|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem: Three Houses}}''. In the game, Byleth assumes the role of a professor to one of the three titular houses at [[Garreg Mach Monastery]], guiding the students through day-to-day activities and improving their combat skills.

Byleth Eisner is the main character of ''Fire Emblem: Three Houses'', following in the footsteps of [[Corrin]] in also serving as a player surrogate. Unlike past player avatars [[Robin]] and Corrin, however, the only customizable features of Byleth are name, gender, and birth date, and they are portrayed as a silent protagonist, with the player choosing Byleth's dialogue options from a menu as they interact with other characters.

In ''Three Houses'', Byleth is the child of [[fireemblemwiki:Jeralt|Jeralt Eisner]], a former knight of the {{s|fireemblemwiki|Church of Seiros}} and Sitri, a nun of the Church of Seiros in Imperial Year 1159. As Byleth was born in critical condition, Archbishop Rhea took the Crest Stone of Flames from Sitri, both to save Byleth and to reawaken the goddess Sothis, resulting in Sitri's death. Byleth does not recall much of their past and Jeralt has told them very little; however, following a chance encounter where Byleth and Jeralt rescue [[fireemblemwiki:Edelgard|Edelgard von Hresvelg]], [[fireemblemwiki:Dimitri|Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd]], and [[fireemblemwiki:Claude|Claude von Riegan]] from a group of bandits, they are brought back to Garreg Mach Monastery, where Jeralt is reinstated as the captain of the Knights of Seiros and Byleth is enlisted as a professor for one of the Officers' Academy's three houses: the Black Eagles led by Edelgard, the Blue Lions led by Dimitri, and the Golden Deer led by Claude. Depending on the player's decision, the story plays out differently.

[[Sothis]] is a mysterious entity who appears in Byleth's dreams and, eventually, manifests in real life, although Byleth is the only one that can see her. She has lost all of her memories except her name, but possesses great power, bestowing Byleth the ability to turn back time. Eventually, after Byleth is banished to a dark realm by a mysterious group called "{{s|fireemblemwiki|those who slither in the dark}}", Sothis rediscovers her past and learns that she is a goddess; she merges fully with Byleth, thus granting them all of her power but ceasing to appear to them after that point, except in a few select circumstances. Sothis is also the source of Byleth's Crest, the Crest of Flames, which allows them to wield the [[Sword of the Creator]] effectively.

Regardless of what house they choose, at the end of Byleth's first year as a professor, Edelgard declares war on the Church of Seiros and Byleth is forced to take a side. An accident results in them falling into a coma for five years; once they awaken, they reunite with their house of choice (or the Church of Seiros, should they decide to side against Edelgard after choosing the Black Eagles) and assist their house leader in their goals: Edelgard to destroy the Church, Dimitri to stop Edelgard, Claude to discover the truth behind Crests and the Heroes' Relics, and {{s|fireemblemwiki|Rhea}} to stop Edelgard and Those Who Slither in the Dark.

[[File:Fighter-byleth.png|thumb|left|Male and Female Byleth, as they appear in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''.]]

Byleth was announced as a DLC fighter in the Nintendo Direct broadcast on January 16, 2020. Both male and female versions are available and are the fifth DLC character available through the Fighters Pass Vol. 1. They were released on January 28th, 2020 as part of Challenger Pack 5.

According to a February 2020 Famitsu interview, Masahiro Sakurai reiterated that Byleth, like the other characters in the Fighters Pass, was a choice made by Nintendo, and the theme for his inclusion was a character from a very recently released game. Unlike previous DLC fighters, which could borrow their moves and animations from legacy titles, Byleth hailed from a game that was still under development. He borrowed and played through a development ROM of ''Fire Emblem: Three Houses'' and realized the game's complex nature, as the plot branched off into three different stories. Finally to remedy potential criticisms of an overabundance of sword-users, it was decided that Byleth have the Hero's Relics from the three house leaders as part of his moveset.

Male Byleth Spirit.png|1,380. '''''Byleth (Male)'''''

Female Byleth Spirit.png|1,381. '''Byleth (Female)'''

*With a 2019 debut, Byleth is currently the most recent fighter to ever appear in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series.

**Byleth is also one of two playable characters whose console of origin is the [[Nintendo Switch]], the other being the unannounced {{uv|ARMS}} character.

*Byleth is the only character other than Jigglypuff with only one idle pose. However, the female variant has a different idle pose than the male one.

*In Japanese, Byleth has two different names to refer to the male and female versions. [[Villager]], [[Wii Fit Trainer]], [[Inkling]], [[Pokémon Trainer]], and the [[Mii|Mii Fighters]] also share this trait.

**Byleth is the only character with this distinction to have a given name rather than a generic title, and the only one to have this distinction in Japanese.

*Byleth, along with [[Robin]] and [[Corrin]], shares the unique distinction of being ''Fire Emblem'' characters:

**That has male and female variants, with all of their default costumes being male.

*Robin and Byleth are the only ''Fire Emblem'' characters whose [[down special]]s are not [[counterattack]]s.

*Byleth is one of two female characters with moves that have super armor, along with Wendy.

**Coincidentally, they are both alternate costumes.

*Byleth is the only playable ''Fire Emblem'' character who does not use a sharpening sound effect when charging a smash attack. However, this does not apply when charging a forward smash with a battering item.