| Pyra in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | |
|---|---|
  
| |
| Universe | Xenoblade Chronicles |
| Shares character slot with | Mythra |
| Availability | Downloadable |
| Final Smash | Burning Sword |
| Tier | S (5) |
| “ | Pyra Blazes Into Battle! | ” |
| —Introduction tagline | ||
Pyra (ホムラ, Homura) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. She was confirmed as a playable fighter alongside Mythra during the February 17th, 2021 Nintendo Direct, and both of them were released as part of Challenger Pack 9 on March 4th, 2021 in Fighters Pass Vol. 2. She can transform into Mythra using her down special move, Swap to Mythra. While Pyra's moveset is similar to Mythra's (aside from three of her special moves and Final Smash), neither is classified as an Echo Fighter. Pyra is classified as Fighter #79.
Although Pyra is the selectable character by default across all palettes, the player can choose to start as Mythra by clicking on her in their fighter portrait at the character selection screen, or by pressing 
while hovering over or having selected Pyra, in the same manner as one chooses which Pokémon to start with when choosing Pokémon Trainer.
Skye Bennett and Shino Shimoji, who voiced Pyra (and Mythra) in the English and Japanese versions of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 respectively, reprise their roles in the international and Japanese versions of Ultimate with new voice clips, the former of whom initially confirmed her reprisal via Twitter.
Pyra and Mythra are ranked 5th out of 82 on the current tier list, placing the Aegis in the S tier. Pyra offers higher KO power and longer range of the two, making her more suited for taking opponents' stocks. She also possesses a strong meteor smash in the form of her down aerial to gimp opponents, which has a very large disjointed hitbox, and can combo into kill moves such as up aerial and up smash when opponents are on the ground. She does have poor mobility and low combo potential, but she can swap to Mythra to cover those weaknesses.
Attributes
Pyra is the stronger component of the Aegis, possessing vastly superior KO potential, damage output and overall range. Like Mythra, Pyra is a middleweight, albeit on the heavier side of the weight class (weighing the same as Mario, Dr. Mario, and Corrin). Despite her weight class, Pyra is burdened with very slow mobility: aside from her above-average air speed, she has the 6th slowest dashing speed, below-average walking speed, and slightly below-average air acceleration. However, compared to other fighters in and around her weight class, her overall character type is similar to that of traditional heavyweights thanks to her plethora of hard-hitting attacks.
While Pyra's power is perhaps her most dominant strength, her range is also very formidable. As a swordswoman who fights with her respective Aegis Sword, almost all of Pyra's standard attacks (barring the first hit of neutral attack) are disjointed, aiding her in directly challenging incoming attacks. This also means that with proper spacing, her aerial moves are hard to punish on shield at maximum distance, allowing her to easily break shields with simple air-to-ground combos. However, Pyra's range also means that with her forward smash, which is one of the longest-reaching in the game, she can bypass counterattacks more effectively than most other characters at maximum distance.
The majority of Pyra's offensive utility comes from her grounded moveset. Her neutral attack comes out on frame 3, making it her fastest attack overall as well as a decent close-range pressure option. Despite dealing less damage than other heavyweight non-infinite jabs, her jab combo is very strong overall, being able to KO starting at 195% from the center of Final Destination. Her forward tilt has very good coverage in front of her and has strong KO potential, while her up tilt hits all around her and KOs very early at 130% from ground level, while also having surprisingly low end lag for its power. While her down tilt is her weakest tilt attack, its speed enables it to work as a poking option and combo tool, while it also hits low enough to hit certain characters hanging on edges. Her smash attacks are her primary finishers, while they all share a balance of range and power; her forward smash is surprisingly fast for its power and range at only 20 frames of startup, while it can KO as early as 75% from center stage uncharged. Her up smash is similar to Lucas's equivalent move in that it has a very good range overall along with equally strong KO power. Her down smash is her weakest smash attack, although also her fastest, and unlike other "sweeping" down smashes, provides excellent coverage in front and behind due to hitting both sides at once for both hits.
Pyra's aerial game also provides other offensive options. Her neutral aerial, despite its slow startup, hits all around her much like Ike's equivalent move, and can KO starting at 155% from ground level. Her forward aerial is very fast despite her generally slow frame data and has roughly the same KO power as her neutral aerial. Her back aerial covers a very wide arc behind her and KOs extremely early at 115% from ground level despite its vertical knockback, allowing it to be used as a niche (albeit slow) option if used in a reverse aerial rush. Her up aerial hits in a very wide arc above her and autocancels in a full hop, while her down aerial is a meteor smash that can KO and start combos, being able to lead into KO confirms depending on the opponent's weight and falling speed.
Lastly, Pyra has an overall versatile set of special moves apart from her down special. Flame Nova, her neutral special, acts a spinning move much like the Links' Spin Attacks, in that it hits in front in behind and can be charged for more damage. Blazing End, her side special, is a projectile that functions like the Links' respective Boomerangs, dealing damage while moving forward (although it cannot move vertically). Prominence Revolt, her up special, is similar to Stone Scabbard, being a rise-then-fall attack that acts as her recovery option, while it works exceptionally well as an out of shield option due to its range and power, and can sweetspot edges on the way up. Lastly, her down special, Swap, switches her with Mythra while granting some invincibility during the switch, allowing to switch playstyles on the fly.
However, Pyra has glaring flaws that are enough to balance out her range and power. As mentioned earlier, her overall mobility is very slow to compensate for her large, powerful attacks. Despite her long range, said speed ironically renders her approach limited even against characters with less range, such as Pit and Sonic, and even other weapon wielders like Joker (especially with his own dashing speed). This also translates thoroughly into her moveset, as while her moves are more frame-flexible than other similar characters such as Ganondorf, they are still punishable due to their high end lag, meaning that a single mistake can easily allow opponents to get close to her.
Her special moves also carry certain flaws as well. Flame Nova has some considerable startup (unless uncharged), while the move does not protect her from above, meaning that characters with good aerial mobility and frame data (such as Falco) can easily approach her with little risk, making the move unsafe if used repeatedly. Blazing End puts Pyra in a state where she is unable to use any other moves until the Aegis Sword returns to her hand, during which she will briefly enter a 20-frame state where she will stop in place. This is especially exploitable with characters that have powerful throws or moves that send her far offstage where the sword may not return to Pyra in time to transform into Mythra for recovery. Lastly, Prominence Revolt has very little horizontal distance potential (only traveling a set horizontal distance of half the length of Battlefield's platform); this when combined with the move's mainly vertical recovery angle makes the move likely to self-destruct if Pyra is too far from the ledge. It also cannot sweetspot ledges from behind leading to a self-destruct if she doesn't reverse the move when facing away from the ledge. Because of this, her sole way of recovery is to use her aerial mobility to make it to just above or below the edge before using Prominence Revolt. Moreover, Prominence Revolt's descent also has a significantly weaker meteor smash than similar moves such as Aether, making the move easier to challenge directly and ill-suited for attempting sacrificial KOs.
Pyra also has a poor disadvantage state, as her average weight, frame size and below-average frame data make her susceptible to combos, while she lacks safe options for interrupting enemy combos. This means that she is also very vulnerable to high-damage combos that end with semi-spikes, as the damage accumulated may be enough for the finishing blow to keep her sufficiently away from the ledge. This is further exacerbated with Prominence Revolt's aforementioned low horizontal distance. Although Swap enables Mythra to remedy the latter flaw somewhat, it is not a failsafe strategy: unlike Pokémon Change, Swap does not grant intangibility until frame 6, making it inefficient as a combo breaker, while Mythra's recovery options are also somewhat mediocre all around despite her vastly superior aerial mobility.
Lastly, Pyra has an overall weak grab game. While her pummel is tied with other characters as the third-most damaging in Ultimate, her throws are overall weak with limited utility (especially her back throw), with only her forward throw dealing more than 8%. Her forward throw can KO at very high percentages at the edge, her up throw can position opponents for KO setups with poor DI/react time, and her down throw can force the opponent into unfavorable aerial positions, where she can follow up if the opponent does not properly react while being able to KO after 200%. However, since said throws are not as powerful as traditional KO throws, they are instead best used to position or edgeguard opponents.
Overall, Pyra is a hard-hitting, yet surprisingly versatile swordswoman who excels at punishing. She must be patient to look for openings due to her slow mobility and poor disadvantage state. In addition, Pyra is best utilized when she and Mythra have the advantage so as to alleviate their respective weaknesses and amplify their respective strengths, whereas it is considered best to switch to her counterpart to keep advantage due to Mythra's sheer flexibility and vastly superior movement.
Not too long after the Aegis' release, professional players such as MkLeo, Sparg0 and Shuton have demonstrated very strong results with Pyra, particularly when used in tandem with Mythra, and her representation and results have further expanded since then. Most players believe the Aegis is top tier or even among the best characters in the game, alongside the commonly accepted Steve and Joker.
Update history
Pyra was slightly nerfed via game updates. In update 12.0.0, she received two changes that are shared with her counterpart Mythra. These include increased hitstun on the second hit of her neutral attack, as well as reduced pushback against opponents while she is charging her forward smash, with the latter of the two being intended to prevent opposing attacks from whiffing against her during that state. In update 13.0.1, she received a nerf to Blazing End, which gained three additional frames of end lag on both the grounded and aerial variants. This change primarily affects footstool combos started with the move, making them more difficult to perform.
Overall, these changes did not change Pyra's competitive reception in the long term, as her key strengths and weaknesses remain unaltered.
Neutral attack's second hit's farthest hitbox has a higher hitstun modifier (8 → 12), allowing it to connect more reliably into the rapid jab.
Forward smash has less pushback while charging.
Adjusted jab resets animation to match other fighters.- Blazing End has more ending lag (FAF grounded 53 → 56, aerial 48 → 51).
Moveset
- Pyra is tied to Mythra as a two-in-one fighter like how Princess Zelda and Sheik function in Melee and Brawl. She can switch places with Mythra by using her down special move, Swap.
- Pyra and Mythra are semi-clones of each other, with all of their non-special moves having similar animations but having different frame data, damage, and knockback. Following the archetypical traits of a transforming character, Pyra is the "slow but strong" counterpart of the duo. Also, their remaining special moves are all unique.
For a gallery of Pyra's hitboxes, see here.
Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.
| Name | Damage | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral attack | 3% | A knifehand strike, followed by an inward slash, followed by an upward slash. Alternatively, the second hit can be followed up by repeated bursts of fire ether. It is Pyra's fastest attack, due to its first hit coming out on frame 3. Holding down the button causes her to repeat the first hit. The third hit has impressive KO potential for a neutral attack combo, similarly to Ridley's standard neutral attack. | ||
| 2% | ||||
| 5% | ||||
| 0.6% (loop), 5% (last) | ||||
| Forward tilt | 11.5% | An outward slash with the Aegis Sword ablaze. Has decent range and power, but is somewhat slow for a tilt attack in regard to startup, coming out on frame 12. It has a shieldstun multiplier of 1.5×, which makes it fairly safe on shield. | ||
| Up tilt | 9.5% | An overhead arcing slash with the Aegis Sword ablaze that starts from behind. A very strong tilt attack that covers a wide area above, in front of and behind Pyra, making it useful as an anti-air and for juggling the opponent. It is somewhat slow, however, and has a noticeable blind spot directly behind Pyra that cannot hit shorter or low profile characters at point-blank range behind her. | ||
| Down tilt | 8% (sword), 6% (arm) |
A kneeling inward slash with the Aegis Sword briefly ablaze. Pyra's fastest tilt attack, and a great combo starter that can lead into an up aerial, reverse up tilt, neutral aerial or forward aerial. At around 80%-120%, the up aerial combo becomes a reliable KO confirm depending on weight. The hitbox on her arm is a sourspot that deals less damage. | ||
| Dash attack | 12.5% (sword), 10.5% (arm) |
A lunging, upward slash with the Aegis Sword ablaze. Rather slow for a dash attack, but very strong, especially if sweetspotted. The hitbox on Pyra's arm is a weaker sourspot. | ||
| Forward smash | Flare Smash (フレアスマッシュ) | 20% | A lunging, two-handed downward slash in front of Pyra with the Aegis Sword ablaze, creating a fiery explosion when it hits the ground. It has very large range in front of her (being comparable to Byleth's forward smash), as Pyra lunges forward to attack. Extremely powerful and lacks a sourspot, being capable of KOing middleweights from the center of Final Destination around 76%. However, the move has rather slow startup at frame 20, and 44 frames of ending lag, making it easily predicted and very punishable. When performing the move, Pyra may utter "Smash Flare!" or "So long!" | |
| Up smash | 3.5% (launcher), 13.5% (main hit, clean), 12% (main hit, late) |
Throws the Aegis Sword above herself as it twirls telekinetically, slashing above herself before picking back the sword and concluding with a twirl. Compared to Mythra's, it only hits once. It has a launcher hit in front of Pyra that hits low to the ground. Has decent range above her, making it useful for contesting airborne opponents directly above her, though its below average startup (coming out on frame 15) renders it unsuited for punishing out of shield. It has excellent power, KOing middleweights at around 91% from ground level. | ||
| Down smash | 13.5% (sword), 11% (arm), 10% (kick, lower leg), 8% (kick, upper leg) |
Kneels and slashes around herself while performing a spinning pirouette, stretching her left leg to kick around herself simultaneously. It hits on both sides of Pyra simultaneously, with the sword being stronger while the pirouette kick is much weaker. Both hits have sourspots inside of Pyra's body; this can allow the back kick's sourspot to combo into the back hit's sweetspot at low percentages. Pyra's fastest smash attack, coming out on frame 12. The sweetspotted sword hit KOs at around 122%, and at 80% at the edge, though neither the sourspotted sword nor the back hit KO reliably. | ||
| Neutral aerial | 10% (clean), 8% (late) |
Telekinetically twirls the Aegis Sword in front of herself while facing the screen. Compared to Mythra, it only hits once but has sex kick properties. It launches opponents upwards with very high base knockback, KOing near the upper blast line at around 110%. It visually resembles Flame Nova, without the fiery effects and visuals. | ||
| Forward aerial | 12% | A spinning outward slash in front of herself with the Aegis Sword ablaze. It has a wide hitbox, capable of hitting opponents below and above her consistently, making it great for catching jumps. It also boasts great KO power, making it great for edgeguarding. However, it cannot autocancel in a short hop. | ||
| Back aerial | 14% (clean), 12% (late) |
Flips while slashing in an upwards arch starting from below herself, with the Aegis Sword ablaze. A unique back aerial in that it launches opponents at a more vertical angle, allowing it to KO off the top blast zone sometimes as a DI mixup. Autocancels in a short hop. | ||
| Up aerial | 10% | An overhead crescent slash with the Aegis Sword ablaze that ends in a delayed somersault, resembling the up aerials of most of the Fire Emblem characters. Boasts great power like her other aerials, and it autocancels almost immediately after the hitboxes cease, making it a hard move to contest in the air. | ||
| Down aerial | 12% (early), 14% (clean), 12% (late) |
A delayed, upside down outward slash with the Aegis Sword ablaze. It meteor smashes opponents at the middle of the arc below Pyra. The move has an early hit that meteor smashes opponents with less power. An incredibly good combo starter that has follow-ups at a wide range of percentages, including KO confirms into her up aerial, forward aerial, back aerial, up smash and (with good timing and spacing) her forward smash. | ||
| Grab | — | Clinches the opponent, restraining them with telekinesis. | ||
| Pummel | 1.5% | A burst of fire ether. | ||
| Forward throw | 3.5% (hit 1), 5.5% (throw) |
A fire ether-infused palm thrust, similar to Lucario's forward throw. Pyra's strongest throw, although it is still extremely weak compared to conventional KO throws. | ||
| Back throw | 3% (hit 1), 4% (throw) |
A wheel kick. Extremely weak, having little utility beyond launching opponents offstage. | ||
| Up throw | 5% | Telekinetically throws the opponent upward. Her worst throw, dealing little damage, not being able to KO until Sudden Death percents, and possessing no combos. | ||
| Down throw | 4% (hit 1), 4% (throw) |
Places the opponent on the floor and jumps, stabbing them on the way down, similarly to fellow Xenoblade character Shulk's down throw. Pyra's main combo throw, having followups into her forward aerial, up aerial, neutral aerial and Prominence Revolt. Visually, it appears to be an abridged version of Prominence Revolt, without the fiery effects and visuals. | ||
| Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge |
— | — | ||
| Techs | — | — | ||
| Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front) |
7% | Slashes around herself while getting up. | ||
| Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back) |
7% | Slashes around herself while getting up. | ||
| Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip) |
5% | Slashes around herself while getting up. | ||
| Edge attack Edge getups |
10% | Slashes in front of herself while climbing up. | ||
| Neutral special | Flame Nova | 3% (hits 1-2, uncharged), 7% (hit 3, uncharged), 4% (hits 1-3, charged), 10% (hit 4, charged), 5% (hits 1-4, fully charged), 13% (hit 5, fully charged) |
Places the Aegis Sword behind herself, charging up fire ether, then telekinetically spins the Aegis Sword ablaze around herself, drawing opponents towards Pyra and hitting multiple times before concluding with a powerful burst of fire ether. The move can be charged to up to two more levels, with each level adding an additional hit, as well as the move's damage and power. It hits on both sides of Pyra. On the ground, Pyra can move slightly across the stage, which can help space the move if it is blocked or bring the opponent closer to the edge. | |
| Side special | Blazing End | 6% (start, normal), 8% (start, smash input), 1.5% (travel), 8.3% (spin hit 1, normal), 10.3% (spin hit 1, smash input), 0.8% (spin loop hits), 10% (spin last hit) |
Telekinetically throws the Aegis Sword set ablaze in front of her, which spins horizontally. The Aegis Sword then sets ablaze and spins vertically, hitting multiple times before returning to her. Pyra's only projectile. The move can be smash inputted to increase the sword's travel distance, which also adds one more hit to the Aegis Sword. It is comparable to other boomerang projectiles (such as Boomerang), although its travel angle cannot be adjusted. Pyra can act freely shortly after throwing the Aegis Sword, being able to move around or perform a defensive option, but she is unable to attack until the sword returns to her (including with special moves, grabs or Swapping to Mythra). Pyra is briefly vulnerable when she catches the Aegis Sword, and the move can be reflected or Pocketed before the sword returns to Pyra. | |
| Up special | Prominence Revolt | 4% (ascending hit), 5% (descent), 9% (fire pillar) |
Jumps while performing an uppercutting slash with the Aegis Sword set ablaze, followed by a downwards stab while falling, creating a pillar of fire similar to Power Geyser upon landing. As a recovery, it offers good vertical distance, and Pyra can move forwards or backwards, but it has poor set horizontal distance (equivalent to half the length of a Battlefield platform regardless of how high she is from the ground), making it comparable to Stone Scabbard and Final Cutter. It has a faster startup compared to her smash attacks, and the landing hit has surprisingly high KO power, making it a useful out of shield option. However, it is very ineffective for sacrificial KOs, as the descending hit has very low knockback and causes Pyra to plummet extremely fast. It also cannot sweetspot ledges from behind. | |
| Down special | Swap to Mythra | — | Swaps places with Mythra. Unlike Pokémon Change, Pyra does not gain frame 1 intangibility, instead becoming intangible starting on frame 6. Also does not stall Pyra/Mythra's fall. | |
| Final Smash | Burning Sword | 12% (hit 1), 0.4% (hits 2-21), 14% (hit 22, close), 8% (hit 22, far) |
Rex appears in front of Pyra, who lends him the Aegis Sword before he performs a downward slash. If it hits, a cutscene plays briefly where Rex and Pyra raise the Aegis Sword set ablaze in the air, then jump at the opponents. Afterwards, it cuts back to the stage where Rex and Pyra perform a huge flaming slash, creating a large pillar of fire to hit caught opponents before being launched. Up to three opponents can be caught by the initial hit, whereas bystanders who didn't get hit by the initial hit can still get hit by the flaming pillar. Compared to Mythra's Sacred Arrow, Burning Sword deals less damage, but the final hit is stronger, enabling it to KO earlier. | |
Stats
| Stats | Weight | Dash speed | Walk speed | Traction | Air friction | Air speed | Air acceleration | Gravity | Falling speed | Jumpsquat | Jump height | Double jump height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | 98 | 1.69 – Initial dash 1.38 – Run |
0.92 | 0.08 | 0.009 | 1.1 | 0.01 – Base 0.055 – Additional |
0.078 | 1.62 – Base 2.592 – Fast-fall |
3 | 26.3 - Base 15.2 - Short hop |
29 |
Announcer call
English
Japanese/Chinese/Korean
French
German
Italian
Russian
Spanish
On-screen appearance
- Rex appears from the sky and tosses Pyra's Aegis Sword at her as she teleports onto the stage. She will move her arm across her chest or hold her hand over her chest depending on if she is facing right or left respectively.
Pyra's on-screen appearance.
Taunts
- Up taunt: Rex appears behind her and pumps his fist up, saying "Go, Pyra!" (shouting Pyra's name excitedly if the game's language is set to Japanese). She waves at Rex while giggling. Rex's animation is similar to the one he does while performing a Blade Special in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
- Side taunt: Holds the Aegis Sword in the air while conjuring a small flame on her hand, saying "You'll get burned." (いきますよ, Here I come.) Similar to the campfire cutscene and her idle animation in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
- Down taunt: Holds the Aegis Sword in front of her while flames shoot out behind her, letting out a battle cry.
Pyra's up taunt.
Pyra's side taunt.
Pyra's down taunt.
Idle poses
- Holds her free hand up to her chest, inhales and exhales.
- Pumps her fist excitedly.
Pyra's first idle pose.
Pyra's second idle pose.
Crowd cheer
| Cheer (English) | Cheer (Japanese/Chinese) | Cheer (Italian) | Cheer (Dutch) | Cheer (French) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheer |   | ||||
| Description | Py - ra! -- Myth - ra! | Homura! - Hikari! | Py - ra! -- Myth - ra! | Py - ra! -- Myth - ra! | Py - ra! -- Myth - ra! |
| Cheer (German) | Cheer (Spanish) | Cheer (Russian) | Cheer (Korean) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheer | ||||
| Description | Py - ra! -- Myth - ra! | Py - ra! -- Myth - ra! | Py - ra! -- Myth - ra! | Ho - mu - ra! -- Hi - ka - ri! |
Victory poses
- Left: Tosses the Aegis Sword in the air while twirling and catches it while posing, saying "We did our best!" (頑張りました, I did my best.). Rex will jump in next to her and hold his fist up, saying "Nice one, Pyra!" (やったね、ホムラ！, Great job, Pyra!). In team battles, Rex does not appear if the team has three or more characters.
- Up: Holds the Aegis Sword in front of her. She and Rex then hold it together and point it up in the air while letting out a battle cry. The final pose is similar to when they hold up the Aegis Sword during Burning Sword.
- Right: Pyra briefly morphs into Mythra, who does a pose and spins around while morphing back into Pyra, who does a finishing pose by extending the Aegis Sword out. They both say "This is the power of the Aegis!" (これが、私達の力です！, This is our power!) in unison, alternating their voices as they swap. Her pose comes from her official artwork and her figurine with Mythra.
In competitive play
Most historically significant players
See also: Category:Pyra and Mythra players (SSBU)
Cosmos - The best Aegis player in the United States. He is the first solo-Aegis player to win a major, doing so at Glitch - Infinite, and has also placed top 8 at several major events, including placing 2nd at both Smash World Tour 2021 Championships and L'Odyssée - Chant I.
MkLeo - The best Ultimate player of all-time, having picked up Aegis towards the end of the online metagame and has since used them as either a main, co-main, or counterpick throughout his career.
Shuton - The best Aegis player in the world, co-maining them along with Olimar. He used Aegis alongside Olimar to win the majors KOWLOON 5 and Wave 4.
Space - Although initially known for his Inkling, he picked up Aegis in mid-2022 and has become the best Aegis player in Europe while maintaining his top 10 status in the continent, placing top 8 at several majors including 5th at King Of Fields 95 3 and 7th at VCA 2022.- Sparg0 - One of the Four Horsemen and one of the best Ultimate players in the post-online metagame. He picked up Aegis during the online metagame and used them as his main for most of 2021. He has since relegated the character to a secondary, often using the character for Cloud's difficult matchups or matchups that are better for Aegis.
Tier placement and history
Since the Aegis' release, they have received very positive reception from competitive players. This is largely owed to Mythra's outstanding mobility and frame data, overall one of the best in the game, alongside her unique Foresight ability, though this is at the cost of her damage output being largely unimpressive. On the other hand, Pyra brings to the table overwhelming power and range, while losing out on mobility and, to an extent, frame data. These polarized attributes overall complement each other very well and leave Pyra and Mythra with few collective weaknesses, most notably a poor recovery with mediocre distance and vulnerability to edgeguarding. As a result, they have seen strong usage since their debut, with Cosmos, MkLeo, Sparg0, and Shuton using them to place highly at multiple major events. This strong reception led many players to consider them as one of the best characters in the game, and they were ranked 2nd on the first tier list, ranking in the S+ tier alongside Steve and Joker.
However following this list, Aegis's overall representation began taking a noticeable hit as more players began exploiting their weaknesses, most notably their poor recovery. In addition, Pyra and Mythra's individual weaknesses began more apparent as the metagame shifted towards a campier, more patient playstyle. Although Mythra's speed allows her to overwhelm other characters and match the speed of faster characters, her mediocre KO ability and lightweight means that she will likely be KO'd first. Conversely, although Pyra has the raw power, her slow mobility leaves her vulnerable to camping and being overwhelmed herself. Finally, as the Aegis were often one of the most common characters in competitive play and have a rather linear playstyle, many players began figuring out the matchup and therefore were better equipped at dealing with the characters. Due to all of this, the Aegis' representation at the top level saw a small decline in 2023: most notably, Cosmos's results took a massive downturn in 2023 while MkLeo's results also took a hit as he dropped and added Aegis to his roster several times. Nevertheless, Aegis's overall representation remained strong, with Shuton continuing to pilot the character alongside Olimar and Sparg0 successfully using the character in certain matchups, albeit with increasingly mixed results as the year went on. As such, the Aegis only suffered a small drop to 5th on the second tier list, falling to the S-tier.
Referencing the fact that Pyra and Mythra share a body, the Aegis' route primarily features pairs of opponents who are canonically clones, or at the very least similar. This extends to Master Hand and Crazy Hand at the end, who are always fought together, regardless of intensity. The items that spawn are from the franchise the opponents are from (or in the case of Round 4, no items).
| Round | Opponent | Stage | Music | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Zelda and  Sheik |
Temple (Battlefield form) | Ocarina of Time Medley | A reference to Pyra and Mythra's ability to Swap being akin to Zelda and Sheik's ability to Transform in Melee and Brawl. |
| 2 |  Samus and  Dark Samus |
Frigate Orpheon | Multiplayer - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes | |
| 3 |  Pit and  Dark Pit |
Reset Bomb Forest | Dark Pit's Theme | |
| 4 |  Ryu and  Ken |
Suzaku Castle (Ω form) | M. Bison Stage Type A | Stamina battle. 150 HP. |
| 5 |  Kirby and  Meta Knight |
The Great Cave Offensive (Battlefield form) | The Great Cave Offensive | |
| 6 |   Link (×2) |
Fountain of Dreams (Ω form) | Great Temple / Temple | The stage choice is a reference to the mid-boss room in the Water Temple where Link fights Dark Link in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. |
| Bonus Stage | ||||
| Final | Master Hand and Crazy Hand | Final Destination | You Will Recall Our Names | |
Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Pyra has Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Medley accompany the credits.
Role in World of Light
Despite their status as downloadable content, Pyra and Mythra do have a legitimate role in World of Light, as they appear in the base game as spirits in the Light Realm and the Final Battle respectively, meaning that they were vaporized by Galeem. The Pyra spirit can be purchased for 10,000SP in Anna's Emporium once Anna's spirit has been defeated. Purchasing this spirit does not unlock her and Mythra as a playable character; rather, they are unlocked after downloading them and freeing at least 10 other fighters from Galeem's control, just like other DLC characters.
Spirits
Pyra's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode; however, Pyra must be the one chosen as the front on the character selection screen to get her fighter spirit. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Pyra/Mythra have been downloaded. Unlocking Pyra/Mythra in World of Light allows the player to preview the second spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "Pyra (Fighter)". Her fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with her artwork in Ultimate.
Additionally, Pyra has a support spirit as part of Ultimate's base game.
967. Pyra
1,458. Pyra (Fighter)
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In Spirit Battles
As the main opponent
| Spirit | Battle parameters | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Image | Name | Series | Enemy Fighter(s) | Type | Power | Stage | Rules | Conditions | Music |
| 1,465 |  |
Pneuma | Xenoblade Chronicles Series | •Pyra/Mythra  / (130 HP)•Shulk  (130 HP)
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13,400 | Cloud Sea of Alrest | •Metal Shift •Move Speed ↑ •Sudden Final Smash |
•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash after a little while •The enemy will occasionally turn metal when the enemy's at high damage •Stamina battle |
Counterattack |
Alternate costumes
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Reveal trailer
Gallery
Pyra's splash art.
Pyra's amiibo.
Pyra and Mythra's unlock notice after downloading them from the Nintendo eShop.
Artwork of Pyra and Mythra, as posted by the official Nintendo of America Twitter account.
Pyra holding a Smash invitation.
Pyra from a Monolith Soft promotional video.
With Mythra on Cloud Sea of Alrest.
Using Flame Nova on Ike and Mario on Tomodachi Life.
Activating Burning Sword with Rex.
Pyra alongside all of the other DLC fighters of Fighters Pass Vol. 2.
Trivia
- Pyra's internal codename is "eflame". Like Hero's "brave" and Mythra's "elight", it is a literal translation of Pyra's Japanese and Chinese names (minus the "e").
- Their victory fanfare also has an internal codename, namely "element", which is presumably what the "e" stands for.
- Additionally, any files that pertain to Rex are codenamed "diver", referencing his occupation as a salvager.
- They are the first DLC characters to be transformations.
- Unlike Pokémon Trainer:
- Pyra and Mythra have their own separate announcer calls used on the character selection screen and their victory poses.
- Their fighter spirits must separately be obtained, with the Blade chosen as the front on the Classic Mode character selection is the one that gets the spirit. The Pokémon Trainer obtains Squirtle's, Ivysaur's, and Charizard's fighter spirits all at once after clearing Classic Mode, while both the male and female Pokémon Trainer spirits must be purchased from the shop.
- Swapping between the two changes the stock icon to the one currently being used, akin to Zelda and Sheik in Melee. With Pokémon Trainer, this can only be done through hacks. However, in Squad Strike, the stock icon always displays the one who started out in the match.
- On the results screen, Pyra and Mythra use their separate stock icons in the KO’s and Falls section instead of using a single icon to represent both (the way Pokémon Trainer does)
- Pyra and Mythra are the first DLC newcomers and transforming characters to be semiclones, albeit of each other rather than of a preexisting fighter.
- Succeeding Min Min, Pyra and Mythra are the second and third characters that were spirits in the base game.
- Coincidentally, their games of origin were in consideration to have playable fighters for the base game, but the base game roster had already been finished by then, making the idea infeasible.
- Because of this, Pyra/Mythra are the respective second and third fighters whose Fighter Spirits are marked as "Name (Fighter)", due to already having regular spirits in the base game.
- Pyra and Mythra's reveal trailer is the first one to not be directed by Masahiro Sakurai. Instead, it was outsourced to Monolith Soft, the developer of the Xenoblade Chronicles series.
- According to Masahiro Sakurai, the development team considered having Rex fighting alongside Pyra and Mythra, but this was decided against due to the difficulty the team had with the Ice Climbers in contexts such as 8-Player Smash. Sakurai specifically cited the far more complicated design and abilities of Pyra and Mythra compared to the relatively simple appearance and moveset of the Ice Climbers.[1] Another issue was getting both characters to move at the same time which the development team found was impossible to do; similarly, it was deemed too difficult to implement Rex as the main fighter with Pyra behind him. This ultimately led to Rex being reduced to a smaller supporting role and Mythra being included along with Pyra with the two being able to swap instead.[2]
- Pyra's design has been adjusted from her original appearance; she wears an additional pair of translucent tights under her shorts, and an additional gold plate covers the top of her butt. Unlike Mythra's similarly adjusted design, this change was not present in either her base game spirit or as an alternate costume in her home game, nor does it even apply to her new fighter spirit. This change could possibly be the result of censorship to comply with the game's CERO A rating in Japan, as with comparable changes made to the designs of Bayonetta, Palutena, female Corrin, and several other characters that appear as spirits. However, Pyra's spirits are an exception.
- According to Sakurai, he and the development team went through a lot of trial and error before settling on Pyra's design for Smash Bros.[3]
- Pyra is one of the few fighters who says a line when KO'd, occasionally saying, "I'm sorry!" (やられました..., I've been finished...)
- To promote their release, Monolith Soft created an animation where Pyra and Mythra show their excitement in joining Smash, and ask for the viewer's support.[4]
- Oddly, Pyra vocalizes when charging a smash attack with a Death's Scythe rather than when attacking. As a result, she remains silent when performing an uncharged smash attack with one.
- Pyra's forward smash, Flare Smash, is the first and so far only smash attack to have a dedicated instructional quote in the Move List. The quote is "The side smash attack deals a lot of damage and has high launch power. It is specific to Pyra, and it can be used to KO opponents even at a low damage." In spite of this special highlighting, it does not possess any unique properties whatsoever, nor it is even the strongest forward smash in the game in terms of damage output or KO percentages.
- When fighting both Master Hand and Crazy Hand in Classic Mode, Pyra (or Mythra) will start on the far left side of the stage rather than in the center. This also occurs with Sephiroth and Sora in their respective Classic Mode routes.
- Pyra, Meta Knight, Inkling, Hero, Banjo & Kazooie, Sephiroth, Mythra, and Sora are the fighters who use their walking animation when navigating through the map in World of Light.
- When performing the Final Smash, Pyra/Mythra briefly uses an animation similar to the ones Blades use in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 when not using any special attacks.
- Pyra originally used Hero’s icon prior to the icon being completed. [5]
- Masahiro Sakurai showed pre-release material of Pyra in a YouTube video[6] and showcased several changes made before the final version:
- Pyra's walking animation was changed to shift her weight forward more as to improve her silhouette.
- The blade trail effect of the Aegis was tweaked several times, particularly the flame effect to reduce potential hitbox jank.
- The collision time of her forward aerial was shortened to remove the feeling of the hitboxes lingering for too long.
- The position of the Aegis during Flame Nova was changed to look more physically realistic.
- Pyra's lips were changed from a consistent arc to a flatter line that turned upward at the edges.
- Blazing End had its collision activate earlier to better match the animations and its animation changed to be more visual from certain camera angles.
- Footage from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was used to tweak the animation of Burning Sword.
- Pyra's P2 costume was intially too dark and its colors were brightened to be more in line with Pneuma.
References
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeDBCgDSiB4
- ^ https://www.nintendoenthusiast.com/sakurai-considered-rex-and-pyra-as-a-duo-character-for-super-smash-bros-ultimate/
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeDBCgDSiB4&t=2125s
- ^ https://twitter.com/SmashBrosJP/status/1367649034186366978
- ^ https://youtube.com/watch?v=wKQ2v9kno9I
- ^ Odds and Ends of Supervising [Graphics]
 Xenoblade Chronicles universe
| |
|---|---|
| Fighters | Shulk (SSB4 · SSBU) · Pyra (SSBU) · Mythra (SSBU) |
| Assist Trophy | Riki |
| Stages | Gaur Plain · Cloud Sea of Alrest |
| Other characters | Azurda · Dunban · Fiora · Metal Face · Nia · Rex |
| Trophies and Spirits | Trophies · Spirits |
| Music | SSB4 · Ultimate |