Lyra

Lyra is a character that was introduced in Generation IV. She is the playable female protagonist in HeartGold and SoulSilver, and her counterpart is Ethan. If Ethan is chosen as the playable character, Lyra appears as an NPC instead.
==Appearance==
Lyra is a short and skinny young girl with fair skin, brown hair tied into low bunched pigtails, and brown eyes. Her attire consists of a poofy white hat with a big red ribbon, a red quarter-sleeved hoodie with a white collar (under which she wears a black undershirt), and dark blue overalls. On her feet, she wears very long white socks with black borders at the tops and cutesy red shoes with white soles. She also carries around a yellow handbag to store her items.
After Lyra enters the Pokéathlon Dome and receives a sporting outfit from Whitney, she wears it when participating in events. Her outfit consists of a pink and white jersey, small pink and white shorts, and pink and white shoes. Despite Lyra's skinny body, her jersey size is apparently a medium instead of a small (though it may just be embellishment on account of Whitney's ditzy nature). 
==Personality==
While the playable version of Lyra displays no personality (aside from turning around in apparent fear just before her Team Rocket disguise is blown in the Radio Tower), the NPC version of Lyra is happy, sweet, and a little ditzy. She greatly respects the player character and is also implied to have a crush on them, as she gets very flustered when her grandmother teases her about having a boy as her friend.
==Biography==
===Games===
When selected to be played in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Lyra is a young girl that lives in New Bark Town with her mother. She starts her journey three years after Red became the Pokémon League Champion.
At the start of the game, Lyra's mother tells her that their neighbor, Professor Elm, has been looking for her. Lyra's mother then gives her daughter her Pokégear back (as it recently came back from the repair shop) and tells her to go see the professor. When Lyra enters Elm's lab, the professor asks her to do something for Mr. Pokémon, a famous researcher that likes to rave about his discoveries. Elm then talks to Lyra some more about his errand, revealing that Mr. Pokémon lives to the north, past the city of Cherrygrove. Since attempting to travel to Mr. Pokémon's house without protection would be a fool's errand (as it would result in Lyra being ravaged by the many Wild Pokémon that live on the nearby routes), Professor Elm allows her to pick one of three special Pokémon (Cyndaquil, Totodile, or Chikorita) to keep herself safe. On Elm's suggestion, whichever Pokémon Lyra picks is kept out of its Poké Ball and walks next to her during her errand.
Now having a layer of protection from any Wild Pokémon that may choose to hurt her, Lyra eventually manages to meet Mr. Pokémon and complete the task that Professor Elm had gave her. While at Mr. Pokémon's house, she also meets Professor Oak, Mr. Pokémon's friend, and talks to him a bit. When their conversation nears an end, Lyra receives a Pokédex from him, a tool that she'll make use of many times later in her life. Turning to leave, Lyra then receives a frantic Pokégear call from Professor Elm. He begs Lyra to return home and help him figure out what to do, as someone broke into his lab and stole one of the special Pokémon from earlier.
When Lyra reaches the outskirts of Cherrygrove City, she gets accosted by a rude boy with striking red hair. When the boy sees Lyra's Pokémon, he calls her a wimp and says that her Pokémon is too good for her. Saying that he has a Pokémon of his own, the boy challenges Lyra to a battle, where it is revealed that he is the thief that broke into Elm's lab. After being victorious or defeated, Lyra learns the boy's name when he drops his Trainer Card. Running back home, Lyra then reenters Elm's lab, where a chaotic scene is unfolding. A policeman questions her, but her friend Ethan stands up for her and declares her to be innocent of any wrongdoing. To corroborate his statement, Lyra gives the red-haired boy's name to the policeman. Allowing her to keep her new Pokémon as thanks, Professor Elm also tells Lyra to try to conquer the Johto region's Pokémon League, as he believes in her.
Taking Professor Elm's advice to heart, Lyra decides to travel Johto on a long quest. She defeats the region's eight Gym Leaders, puts the newly reborn Team Rocket back into the dirt, and eventually becomes the Champion by taking Lance's title away from him again. She also beats back the red-haired boy from before numerous times and teaches him to change for the better. 
After taking Lance's place, Lyra rides on a luxurious ferry called the S.S. Aqua and arrives in Kanto. Now starting a second journey (this time across the region of Red's birth), Lyra teaches the eight Gym Leaders of Kanto the humiliation of defeat once more after Red had done so three years prior. Recognizing her power, Professor Oak then allows Lyra to travel to Mt. Silver. There, she finds Red (who had been missing for a very long time) standing in the middle of a freezing blizzard. Shivering in her little shoes and thin socks, Lyra challenges the boy of few words to a battle and eventually ends his winning streak. 
Lyra's journey doesn't end there, however. She still has the Pokéathlon, Sinjoh Ruins, and numerous other challenges to face, including a rematch with Red. She can also later receive a Starter Pokémon from Steven Stone, being given a choice between Torchic, Mudkip, and Treecko.
As an NPC, Lyra lives in New Bark Town with her Marill. She greatly respects the player and assists them with things, including teaching them how to capture Pokémon. She also stands up for them during the chaotic scene in Elm's lab, declaring the player character to be innocent of any wrongdoing. Later, when the player character meets the Day-Care Couple (Lyra's grandparents), she shows up and talks for a bit. When Lyra's grandmother teases her about having a boy as a friend, Lyra gets very embarrassed, saying that the player character just lives nearby. She then turns to leave, but she remembers to give the player character her Pokégear number at the last minute. She then glares at her grandmother and tells her not to say anything (since Trainers are supposed to exchange numbers) before speeding off. 
Later, in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver's Special Celebi Event, NPC Lyra accompanies the player character. When Celebi uses its time-traveling abilities, Lyra is caught in the middle and gets dragged along with them. Now stuck with the player character, Lyra witnesses Giovanni having an argument with the red-haired boy from earlier. (She is also present when the player character battles Giovanni himself.) Eventually, Lyra starts to feel sick and complains about it, begging for Celebi to stop messing with time. When Celebi eventually stops, Lyra finds her Marill (which she had been sorely missing) and is overjoyed to discover that she has returned to her time. She then compliments the player, saying that they "never cease to inspire great adventures," and heads home.
===Other appearances===
==Sprites==
LyraVS.PNG|Lyra's VS. Sprite
Lyra HGSS.png|Lyra's Battle Sprite
Lyra PA HGSS.png|Lyra's Pokéathlon Sprite
Lyra Back HGSS.png|Lyra's back Sprite
==Pokémon==
0183Marill.png|Marill
==Trivia==
*According to the Pokédex, Lyra is 4'11 (1.52 m) in height and weighs 90.4 lbs (41 kg).
*Although Lyra replaces the female playable character of Pokémon Crystal (Kris) and shares some similarities with her, she was designed from scratch. A man named Takao Unno (the Art Director for HeartGold and SoulSilver) was the one who designed her.
==Gallery==
Lyra opening.png|Lyra in the opening.
Arceus in Sinjoh Ruins.png|Lyra and Ethan at the Sinjoh Ruins with Arceus.