Gareth

"How very impressive."

- Gareth

Gareth (ガレス) is one of the Soul Erasers (special Mavericks) of Mega Man Xtreme 2. Players battle him in the final stages when playing as Zero.

Story
When Gareth first appears he quickly shrugs off X and Zero. 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 "guardians". Iris then discovers that Gareth is erasing various Reploid's DNA 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.

Archie Comics
Gareth and his mistress were among the many Mavericks cloned by Sigma-1 using the Genesis Portals during the Worlds Unite crossover event. His lion was dispatched to the world of Golden Axe, although it was later taken down by Gilius Thunderhead.

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.