Pyra (SSBU)

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Pyra in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
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Universe	Xenoblade Chronicles
Shares character slot with	Mythra
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	Burning Sword

“	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 was released on March 4th, 2021 as part of Fighters Pass Vol. 2. Pyra is classified as Fighter #79.

Skye Bennett reprises her role as Pyra in English, while Shino Shimoji reprises her role in Japanese.

Attributes

Pyra is the stronger Blade of the duo, possessing vastly superior kill power, damage output and (in most cases) range. In character attributes, she is a middleweight fighter with very slow mobility, possessing the sixth slowest run speed of any character, below average walking speed and slightly below average air acceleration. However, compared to other fighters in and around her weight class (such as Mario or Cloud), her overall character type is similar to that of traditional heavyweights, possessing a plethora of hard-hitting attacks. Altogether, despite being the same weight as Mario, Pyra can be seen as a "ranged powerhouse" character.

While Pyra's power is perhaps her most dominant strength, her range is also very formidable. Almost all of her sword attacks involve wide swings that hit in arcs with good coverage, making approaching Pyra surprisingly tough. 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 KO's 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' 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 KO's 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). Lastly, Prominence Revolt, her up special, is similar to a Mii Swordfighter's Stone Scabbard, being a rise-then-fall attack that acts as her recovery option, while it works exceptionally well as an OoS option due to its range and power, and can sweetspot edges on the way up.

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 running 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. Lastly, Prominence Revolt has very little horizontal distance potential; 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.

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, which is further exacerbated with Prominence Revolt's aforementioned low horizontal distance (although swapping to Mythra for her superior recovery options and aerial zone breaking abilities can fix this flaw entirely).

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% damage. 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 heavy-hitting yet surprisingly versatile swordsman who capitalizes on hard reads and strong punishes. She must be patient to look for openings due to her slow nature and poor disadvantage. She is best utilized when the pair have the advantage so as to hide her weaknesses and amplify her strengths, whereas it is considered best to switch to her counterpart to keep advantage due to Mythra’s sheer flexibility and superior recovery.

Due to Pyra having only recently been released, it has yet to be seen how Pyra is played in professional play, online or offline.

Moveset

• Pyra is tied to Mythra as a two-in-one fighter, similar to how Zelda and Sheik function in Melee and Brawl. She can transform into Mythra quickly, using her down special, Swap to Mythra.
• 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" of the duo. Also, their remaining special moves are all unique.
• In a similar fashion to Palutena, Cloud, and Sephiroth, Pyra walks normally but floats during her dash.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	A knife-hand strike, followed by an inward slash, followed by an upward slash. Alternatively, the second hit can be followed up by a series of fiery energy bursts that conclude with a larger blast that launches opponents. This is Pyra's fastest attack, coming out on frame 3. Holding down the button causes her to repeat the first hit. The third hit (which can be used in place of the rapid jab) gives the move impressive KO potential for a neutral attack combo.
			2%
			5%
			0.6% (infinite), 5% (finisher)
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.
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 for juggling opponents and denying landings. It is somewhat slow, however.
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 delayed, running 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	20%	A lunging, two-handed downward slash in front of Pyra with the Aegis Sword ablaze. It is extremely strong for a forward smash and has very good range in front of her as well (being comparable to Ganondorf's notorious forward smash). However, the move has high ending lag, making it 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 spins 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. It has excellent power as well, KOing most characters at 80%.
Down smash			13.5% (sword), 8% (kick)	Kneels and slashes around herself while performing a spinning pirouette, stretching her left leg to kick around herself simultaneously. Hits on both sides of Pyra simultaneously, with the sword being stronger while the pirouette kick is much weaker. Pyra's fastest smash attack.
Neutral aerial			10% (clean), 8% (late)	Telekinetically spins 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 high 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 spacing) her forward smash.
Grab			—	Clinches the opponent, restraining them with telekinesis.
Pummel			1.5%	Blasts the opponent with fire from her hands.
Forward throw			3.5% (hit 1), 5.5% (throw)	Quickly blasts the opponent away with a fiery energy blast. Pyra's strongest throw, although it is still extremely weak compared to conventional KO throws.
Back throw			3% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Turns around with the opponent and kicks them away.
Up throw			5%	Telekinetically throws the opponent upward.
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 fiery energy, then telekinetically spins the Aegis Sword ablaze around herself, drawing opponents towards Pyra and hitting multiple times before concluding with a powerful, fiery burst of energy. 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's 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 or Cross. Pyra can act freely shortly after throwing the Aegis Sword, being able to move around or perform a defensive option, but she's unable to attack until the sword returns to her (including with special moves). 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 as Pyra lands. As a recovery, it offers good vertical distance, and Pyra can move forwards or backwards, but it has mediocre horizontal distance. 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. Similar to Mii Swordfighter's Stone Scabbard.
Down special		Swap	—	Transforms into Mythra.
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.

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!". 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 her sword in the air while conjuring a small flame on her hand, saying "You'll get burned.". Similar to the Campfire cutscene and her idle animation in Xenoblade Chronicles 2
• Down taunt: Holds her sword in front of her while flames engulf behind her, letting out a battle cry.

Victory poses

• 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!" in unison, alternating their voices as they swap form. Her pose comes from her official artwork and her figurine with Mythra.
• Left: Tosses the Aegis Sword in the air while twirling and catches it while posing, saying "We did our best!". Rex will jump in next to her and hold a fist up, saying "Nice one, Pyra!".
• Up: Holds the Aegis Sword in front of her, then she and Rex 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.

A short excerpt of the main battle theme from Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Classic Mode: Shared Destinies

Referencing the duality of Pyra and Mythra, the pair's route features pairs of opponents who are the same or 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 characters 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 (x2)	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

Note: With the exception of Round 6, every round plays music from the opponents’ home series.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Pyra has Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Medley accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

The message that shows Pyra and Mythra's availability in World of Light

The Pyra spirit available for purchase 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 spirit. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins, but only after she has been downloaded. Unlocking her in World of Light allows the player to preview the second spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "Pyra (Fighter)".

Additionally, Pyra has a support spirit as part of Ultimate's base game.

• 

  967. Pyra

• 

  1458. Pyra (Fighter)

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 / •Shulk		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

Gallery

• 

  Artwork of Pyra and Mythra, as posted by the official Nintendo of America Twitter account.

• 

  Pyra holding a Smash invitation.

• 

  Pyra's splash art.

• 

  Pyra and Mythra's unlock notice after downloading them from the Nintendo eShop.

• 

  With Mythra on Cloud Sea of Alrest.

• 

  Using Flame Nova on Ike and Mario on Tomodachi Life.

• 

  Activating Burning Sword with Rex.

Trivia

• Pyra's internal codename is "flame". Like Hero's "brave" and Mythra's "light", it is a literal translation of Pyra's Japanese and Chinese names. However, their victory fanfare's internal codename is "element".
• Pyra and Mythra are the fourth team of characters to share a character slot via transformation, the first three being Zelda and Sheik in Melee and Brawl, Samus and Zero Suit Samus in Brawl, and Pokémon Trainer with Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard.
  • Unlike Zelda and Sheik or the Pokémon Trainer, Pyra and Mythra have separate Final Smashes. The only other transforming characters with this distinction are Samus and Zero Suit Samus in Brawl, although their Final Smashes were the direct cause of their transformation. Zelda and Sheik in Brawl had the same Final Smash, but with slightly altered physics.
  • 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.
    • Despite Rex being a non-playable entity present for both Pyra and Mythra similar to the actual Trainer, he only appears for taunts and Final Smashes, and is not used to represent the character slot as a whole. This may be because Rex partook in combat within his game of origin, but does not do so in Ultimate, while the player characters in mainline Pokémon games never fight directly.
  • Both Pyra and Mythra are shown on the versus splash screen, though higher numbers of players will only show the one in front instead.
  • Their fighter spirits must separately be obtained, with the Blade chosen as the front on the Classic Mode character selection being the one that gets the spirit. The Pokémon Trainer obtains Squirtle's, Ivysaur's, and Charizard's fighter spirits all at once, 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.
  • Pyra and Mythra do not appear in Spirit battles as separate fighters, only appearing in the battle for Pneuma's spirit as a single transforming character.
• Pyra and Mythra are the first DLC newcomers and transforming characters to be semiclones, albeit of each other rather than 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.
    • Both of these games were also released in 2017 for the Nintendo Switch.
  • All three are also female.
• 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.
• Pyra and Mythra mark the second time in Ultimate where multiple characters share the same slot in the character selection screen while having different Fighter Numbers, with the first being the Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon.
  • However, if the player's settings are set so that echo fighters are stacked, they would actually be the third instance of this. This is because Mii Brawler, Mii Swordfighter, and Mii Gunner will share the same slot.
• Pyra's design has been adjusted from her original appearance; her shorts cover up more of her waist and she wears an additional pair of translucent tights under them. Unlike Mythra, 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. The shorts could possibly be censorship and age rating to have a kid-friendly audience like Bayonetta, Palutena, Corrin, and several other characters, especially from different series/spirits.
• 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.
• Pyra and Mythra are the fourth and fifth characters to have a Smash 4-styled poster to promote their inclusion as a playable fighter, following Inkling, Terry, and Min Min.
• Pyra and Mythra are the fourth and fifth Fighters Pass characters to originate from an already represented franchise, following Byleth, Min Min, and Sephiroth.
  • When counting all of Ultimate's DLC, they are the fifth and sixth, as Piranha Plant originates from the Super Mario series.
  • Of these characters, Min Min is the only one that comes from an existing franchise that did not yet have a full-fledged playable character.
• Pyra is one of the few fighters who says a line when KO'd, occasionally saying, "I'm sorry!"
• Pyra and Mythra are the only characters whose official renders do not cast a shadow, and one of three whose render and alternate costumes on the official website do not cast a shadow, the others being Bowser Jr. and Banjo & Kazooie.
• To promote their release, Monolith Soft created an animation where Pyra and Mythra show their excitement in joining Smash, and asking for the viewer's support.