Pyra

Pyra is one of the main characters in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. She is Rex's and an Aegis, a legendary and especially powerful Blade.

Appearance and personality
Pyra is a female Blade who wears a red short-sleeved outfit two capelet-like decorations on her back a emerald tiara, red shorts, red leggings, red fingerless gloves, red boots with emerald decorations and has an emerald Core Crystal on her chest. After she gives Rex half of her life force, this Core Crystal has a missing area in the shape of an ‘X’ on it.

Pyra’s personality is likely based on what Mythra felt she lacked or aspired to be during Torna ~ The Golden Country, and is also quite similar to Jin during the events of Torna as such. She and Mythra call the Architect "father". Unlike Mythra, who is more brash and puts up a more prickly front, Pyra is outwardly kind, like Jin. Additionally, she is skilled at cooking, another trait she has in common with Jin and differs from Mythra in. Pyra can be assumed to have a somewhat dark sense of humor, as shown when she responds “''I could never do that! I don’t have a knife.''” when Nia mentions that Pyra could eventually backstab Rex. Pyra, like Mythra, is immensely guilty about the events of the Aegis War. They both want to stop Malos and reach Elysium in order to die and ask the Architect why he made them. This changes over the course of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, where they grow to love Rex and the world. After being accepted by Rex despite their betrayal of him through their intentions in reaching Elysium, Pyra and Mythra transform into Pneuma.

Torna ~ The Golden Country
Pyra is a form of the Aegis, a powerful which was one of two Aegises that fought during the Aegis War 500 years before the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. She is a weaker form created by Mythra so Mythra could seal herself away after she was overcome with grief following the destruction of three Titans in the Aegis War. After the Aegis War’s end, Pyra was sealed away on Addam’s ship, which was then sank deep beneath the Cloud Sea.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Approximately 500 years after the events of Torna ~ The Golden Country, Pyra is discovered sealed within the Ancient Ship by a crew of elite salvagers. The young Rex was first to find her, and touched the core crystal on the sword in front of her, prompting Jin to kill him. Rex then woke in a grassy field with Pyra, who explained this was a memory of Elysium, and she wishes to go back there. But because Rex is dead, she chooses to spend half her life force to revive him, thus becoming his Blade, which is symbolized by an X shaped Core Crystal appearing on his chest, in exchange for Rex promising to take her to the real Elysium. Pyra then helps Rex fight against Jin and Malos, and with the help of Nia, Dromarch, and Azurda, the two of them manage to escape, but crash on Gormott after the battle. Later on at Gormott, Pyra learns that she and Rex share wounds from battle due to the fact they share a life force.

In Chapter 3, when Iona is kidnapped, Pyra goes missing, as she headed to confront Akhos and Malos after Malos ordered her to come alone in a dream and see what they want for Iona’s safety. Rex and his party show up to fight Jin and Akhos, with the resulting battle resulting in ’s death. After Rex recklessly continues to fight due to his grief over Vandham’s death, Pyra gives way for Mythra to awaken in order to ensure Rex’s survival. Pyra proceeds to then switch with Mythra as needed throughout the game.

Later on, Brighid talks to Pyra in secret about how Blades should be honest with their Drivers, seemingly because she has an idea of what Pyra and Mythra's true intentions in reaching Elysium may be.

In Chapter 6, Pyra is taken by Malos, though she ensures the survival of her friends by threatening to destroy herself with Siren unless Malos and Jin left them alone.

It is revealed in Chapter 7 that Pyra and Mythra originally wanted to reach Elysium to ask what their purpose was and finally be allowed to die. However, Rex still accepts them and fights Jin and Malos with resolve for them. His acceptance of them causes them to awaken into Pneuma.

In Chapter 10, when Rex is tested by the Architect through a vision, Pyra requests the Architect to stop it after seeing Rex suffer throughout what he experienced. It is revealed that Pneuma was one of the three cores in the Trinity Processor which was used to maintain the Conduit and later used by the Architect to collect data from the Core Crystals of Blades in his attempt to restore humanity, making Pyra and Mythra both Blades awakened from Pneuma's Core Crystal. After Pneuma transfers her remaining life force to Rex’s Core Crystal, the Aegis’ Core Crystal falls off of his chest, allowing him to reawaken Pyra and Mythra, who are now in separate bodies.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Pyra is seen in a photograph holding what appears to be her child as Aionios splits back into the worlds Bionis and Mechonis, and Alrest, respectively.

Lore

 * After sealing the third Aegis Sword in Elpys, Addam, her original Driver, would place Pyra within the Ancient Vessel and sink it beneath the Cloud Sea, where she would sleep for nearly 500 years. Being an Aegis, she persisted long after Addam's death.
 * Pyra is a weaker form created by Mythra, which is supposedly the reason that her element is fire, compared to Mythra's light. Primarily, this stems from the trauma of Mythra's final battle with Malos killing countless bystanders and sinking the Kingdom of Torna. As a result, Pyra was born with the burden of Mythra's most painful experience, and created to keep Mythra, and thus her power, sealed away indefinitely.
 * This meant that Pyra shared Mythra's desire to be removed from the world, believing that her destructive capability invalidates her right to exist.
 * One of Pyra's most notable skills is her preternatural cooking ability, directly contrasting with Mythra's tendency to make things that no sane human would dare call edible. Both share the same enthusiasm for the craft, despite the polar opposite skill levels.
 * Pyra remarks that she can't make ice cream, since her cooking ability is tied to her flame powers.
 * Between the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Pyra and Rex would have a daughter together named Glimmer. When Bionis and Alrest intersected, Glimmer would be subsumed into Origin, and Moebius would cycle her as an Agnian soldier within Aionios. Presumably, Pyra was assimilated as well.
 * Glimmer bears a striking resemblance to Pyra, bearing an identical Core Crystal to her and Mythra. As well, her hair color lines up with the baby Pyra holds in the photo at the end of Xenoblade 3.
 * Glimmer is also identified as Rex's daughter by Linka, A, and Rex himself.

As a party member
Pyra becomes Rex's default Blade during the battle against on the Ancient Ship. His arts do not change after finding her. After joins the party, the player can freely swap between the two in the menu or during battle without any cooldown.

Super Smash Bros.
Pyra is a playable character in the Smash Bros. series starting with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. She was confirmed as a playable fighter alongside Mythra during the February 17th, 2021 Nintendo Direct, and was released as part of the Fighters Pass Vol. 2 on March 4th, 2021. She can swap with Mythra at any moment throughout the game.


 * Pyra is the stronger Blade of the duo, dealing vastly superior damage than Mythra, but at the cost of slower movement.
 * Neutral attack: A three-hit combo of a knife-hand strike, an inward slash, and an upward slash. Alternatively a series of fire bursts that conclude with a larger blast. Pyra's fastest attack.
 * Forward tilt: An outward swing with the Aegis Sword ablaze. Decent power but slow.
 * Up tilt: Arcing swing starting from behind. Very strong and covers a wide area above.
 * Down tilt: Inward slash with the Aegis Sword briefly ablaze and Pyra's fastest tilt attack.
 * Dash attack: Somewhat delayed running upwards slash with the Aegis Sword ablaze.
 * Forward smash: A lunging, two-handed downward slash with the Aegis Sword ablaze that ends with a fiery explosion once it hits the ground.
 * Up smash: An upwards throw of the Aegis Sword that only hits once. Has excellent power.
 * Down smash: A spinning attack performed as a pirouette. Hits on both sides simultaneously, with the kick being being weaker than the Aegis Sword.
 * Neutral aerial: Telekinetically spins the Aegis Sword in front of herself. Unlike Mythra, it only hits once.
 * Forward aerial: A spinning outward slash in front of herself with the Aegis Sword ablaze.
 * Back aerial: Flips while slashing in an upwards arch starting from below herself, with the Aegis Sword ablaze.
 * Up aerial: An overhead crescent slash with the Aegis Sword ablaze. Possess great damage.
 * Down aerial: A delayed, upside down outward slash with the Aegis Sword ablaze. It can meteor smash the opponents if hit at the middle of the slash's arc.
 * Pummel: Blasts the opponent with fire from her hands.
 * Forward throw: Tosses the opponent with a fiery energy blast.
 * Back throw: Turns around and kicks the opponent away.
 * Up throw: Telekinetically throws the opponent upward.
 * Down throw: Places the opponent on the floor and stabs them.
 * Neutral special: Flame Nova. Pyra charges the Aegis Sword behind herself and then releases its power in a fiery spin attack.
 * Side special: Blazing End. Pyra throws the Aegis Sword and performs a spinning attack. This leaves her vulnerable until the sword returns.
 * Up special: Prominence Revolt. Pyra jumps and performs a slash with the Aegis Sword ablaze and is followed by a downward stab that creates a pillar of fire. This is Pyra's main recovery move, but if performed too far from a platform, it can lead to a self destruct.
 * Down special: Swap to Mythra. Pyra transforms into Mythra on the spot. Can be used to dodge attacks.
 * Final Smash: Burning Sword. Pyra lends Rex her Aegis Sword and he attempts to slash any opponent in from of them. If successful, a cutscene plays where she and Rex summon a large pillar of fire under the targeted opponents.

Trivia

 * In Japanese, Pyra is voiced by Shino Shimoji, who also voices Mythra, and Glimmer in Future Redeemed.
 * Along with Pyra's Japanese voice actor, her English voice actor, Skye Bennett, also voices Mythra.

Merchandise
Pyra