Awakened Zero

"Hmm...Yes...The energy readings are still the same...and there is no Maverick reading, is there... You are reading my normal data. This is the true form of me..."

- Awakened Zero

Awakened Zero (覚醒ゼロ) is a boss form from Zero that can be fought in Mega Man X5 if Sigma succeeds to flood Zero's body with a large amount of the Sigma Virus, spreading it on Earth and dropping the Eurasia colony to achieve it. It is said to be the "true form" of Zero, a powerful and destructive robot. The appearance of this form depends on the result of the Maverick Hunters to take down Eurasia with the Enigma and Space Shuttle. Also, the chance of Zero awakening will increase if he gets the "Virus" condition from the Sigma Virus enemies multiple times before Eurasia's crash.

Mega Man X5
When playing as X in the third Zero Space, X will fight against Zero. Likewise, X will be the opponent when playing as Zero.

If Zero changes to Awakened Zero, he will no longer be available as a playable character, with X fighting against him instead of the normal Zero. Awakened Zero's attacks are similar to the normal Zero battle, except that his introduction and dialogue are different, he has a purple aura, his attacks cause more damage, has a new attack (Shingetsurin), and if the player takes too long (about 2 minutes) to defeat Awakened Zero, he will become invincible and start using only one lethal attack, Genmu Zero.

Mega Man X Legacy Collection
Awakened Zero appears alongside Ultimate Armor X as the final battle in Hard Mode from X Challenge in Mega Man X Legacy Collection and Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2.

Rockman X DiVE
Awakened Zero appears as a DiVE Festival exclusive playable character. He can use the Genmu Zero and the Shingetsurin.

Attacks

 * Z-Buster (ゼットバスター) - Only used by the normal Zero. Zero will shoot two shots if his health is high and a barrage of shots if his health is low.
 * Shingetsurin (真月輪) - Only used by Awakened Zero. Zero shoots two blue ring-like projectiles that home in on X and stay right in front of him, after a while they will home in on X once more and this time they will try to hit him.
 * Saber Bullet (セイバー弹) - Zero sends a small spinning crescent wave slash from his saber that homes on X. Usually used after Z-Buster or Shingetsurin.
 * Shin Messenkou (真・滅閃光) - A stronger version of C-Flasher (Messenkou) where Zero punches the ground and a series of projectiles shoot from the floor to the ceiling.
 * Genmu Zero (幻夢零 Genmurei) - Only used by Awakened Zero, and only if he is Level 20 or above. If the battle against Awakened Zero continues for a long time (around 2 minutes), he will launch two giant crescent waves from his saber repeatedly, which cover the entire area in front of him and can kill X instantly. Awakened Zero is invulnerable during this attack, and as he will be constantly using this attack, it is impossible to defeat him after the time limit.

Rockman X5 IF
Zero fought against X in his awakened form, and returns to normal after the battle.

Rockman X5 (manhua)
While not an appearance of Awakened Zero, per-se, it was alluded to in the sense that Zero went maverick at one point in the manhua like in the bad ending of the game. A notable difference, however, was that Zero going maverick had been due to Spike Rosered biting into his neck and infecting him.

Trivia

 * The name of Awakened Zero's techniques are similar to the techniques he can learn in Mega Man X5:
 * Mikazukizan ("Crescent Moon Slash") and Shingetsurin ("True Moon Ring").


 * Messenkou and Shin Messenkou.
 * Sougenmu and Genmurei / Genmu Zero.
 * For his headshot in the VS screen for X Challenge, it uses the official Zero artwork from X5, but with some slight added purple to represent Awakened Zero's aura.
 * Although Awakened Zero doesn't make any direct appearances in other games (X Challenge and DiVE notwithstanding), it is to be noted that Omega, in particular Omega Zero, had his full power drawn out by Dr. Weil, making him somewhat similar to Awakened Zero.
 * In Mega Man X DiVE, Awakened Zero's armor is more orange then red.