Gareth

"How very impressive."

- Gareth

Gareth (ガレス) is one of the Mavericks from Mega Man Xtreme 2 behind the Erasure incident in Laguz Island. Players battle him in the final stages when playing as Zero.

Story
When X and Zero first encounter him, Gareth claims to be a Soul Eraser who “erases the souls of evil Mavericks”, and quickly shrugs off the two Hunters. Realizing that they may possess some level of power Gareth decides to test their powers. He forces X and Zero to battle Laguz Island's eight "guardians". Iris then discovers that Gareth is erasing various Reploid's DNA Souls in order to create items to make himself stronger. Later in the game Gareth says that he was wrong in letting X and Zero live, as their powers are quickly overwhelming the guardians. Although he suggests destroying them immediately, Berkana suggests studying the two Hunters would prove more useful.

Once all the guardians are defeated Gareth sends the Maverick Hunters the coordinates to his location in the "Reploid Research Laboratory" in Laguz Island. Eager to put an end to this battle both hunters race to the lab. X and Zero reach Gareth and Berkana at last deep in the lab. Gareth reveals that the "games" were Berkana's idea. He also tells Zero that the Reploids whom he killed should be honored to have "been chosen as experimental samples", angering Zero. Berkana seems to be very interested in X, while Gareth wants to test his skills against Zero. The two Hunters split up to battle the two Mavericks. After an intense battle, Zero defeats Gareth, putting an end to his murderous ways.

Strategy
Gareth attacks by throwing javelins and defends with his shield. When he jumps above the screen, he will throw four javelins before he falls. He receives more damage when hit while throwing a javelin.

Gareth's Lion
This unnamed lion is Gareth's companion that never appeared in-game. Despite this, the lion's head that makes up Sigma's Ride Armor (his second form) bears a striking resemblance. It is unknown if the lion can transform into a Ride Armor or if it is only based on it.

Archie Comics
Gareth and his mistress were among the many Mavericks revived by Sigma-1 using the Genesis Portals during the Worlds Unite crossover event. They are dispatched to the world of Golden Axe to set an Unity Engine there. Gareth's lion is taken down by Gilius Thunderhead, while Gareth himself is defeated by Ax Battler.

Production Notes
Designer Comments

"The order details for Gareth were to make a 'knight and his lion.' Unfortunately, Gareth's lion does not make an appearance in the game itself. If the player could just assume that the lion loyally follows Gareth everywhere, but not in any way that is visually confirmable within the game, that would be great. (laughs)" -Haruki Suetsugu

Trivia

 * In the game screenshots on Capcom's site, some of Gareth's colors are yellow instead of purple and red.
 * Following the medieval theme, Gareth is named after a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian Legend.