χ-kai-

Character Info

Artwork from Mega Man X DiVE.
Appearances
Game(s):	Mega Man X DiVE
Other Media:	TruForce Collectibles
Character Details
Name(s):	χ-kai-, χ
Affiliation(s):	X-Hunters
Behind the Scenes
Designer(s):	Keisuke Mizuno
Voice (JP):	None
Voice (EN):	None

χ-kai-, or simply χ (カイ), is a character introduced in the TruForce Collectibles Designer Series. In this alternate lore, χ is a prototype of X who is the secret fourth member and leader of the X-Hunters. He also appeared as a boss in Mega Man X DiVE as a result of glitched data.

In the Games

Mega Man X DiVE

Model in Mega Man X DiVE.

In Mega Man X DiVE, χ-kai- was introduced as the boss of the X-Hunters Event on 11 August 2021. He attacks Hunter Base in search of his nemesis, X. RiCO notes that his presence must be due to a program error changing the data of the original story of Mega Man X2, meaning χ is a form of Irregular Data.

χ comes across the Player, RiCO, and ViA. He rudely introduces himself, stating that he only joined the X-Hunters because Serges ordered him to, and that he now wants to defeat X to prove that he is not merely a clone of him. He then departs, seeking X. Once the Player finds him again, χ locks them in a room and starts a boss battle, hoping that X will show himself if he defeats the Player. He mainly fights using his arm buster; once he has taken enough damage, he equips a power-up that gives him abilities similar to the Ultimate Armor, including a dash attack like the Nova Strike and spherical shots like the Plasma Charge Shot. When the Player defeats χ, he is shocked, until X arrives. χ then tells X of his angst and hatred towards him, but chooses to retreat rather than fight, the two swearing that they will fight one day.

χ-kai- can also be unlocked as a playable Hunter Program. He is an S-rank character who was made available on 11 August 2021, along with the X-Hunters Event. His Active Skills are Charge Shot -kai- and Multi-Chasing Laser.

Other Media

TruForce Collectibles

χ-kai- first appeared as an alternate color of the X "Ver. Ke" figure by TruForce Collectibles, with his own unique name and backstory. In this alternate lore, he is the true leader of the X-Hunters from Mega Man X2. Long ago Dr. Wily stole blueprints for X and used them to create χ, a prototype of his design. However, when Wily started working on Zero, he abandoned χ and forgot about him. When the X-Hunters formed in the next century, χ was discovered and completed by an unknown individual (likely Serges, due to his connection to Wily), who gave him upgraded specs even higher than the real X's. However, it is noted that χ cannot equip Armor Parts.

Behind the Scenes

Creation

χ-kai- was designed by Keisuke Mizuno as an alternate color for the X "Ver. Ke" figure that he designed for TruForce Collectibles. After reading the commentary by Yoshihisa Tsuda in Mega Man X Official Complete Works, Mizuno learned that the X-Hunters from Mega Man X2 were originally supposed to have a fourth female member, but she was cut due to memory limitations on the hardware. The backstory that Mizuno gave χ draws on this fun fact, making him a new, secret fourth member of the X-Hunters.

Developer Commentary

"This concept came from the episode listed in Mega Man X Official Complete Works — "There were originally four characters in the X-Hunters, however, one character had to be cut out due to ROM capacity." It still amazes me that Capcom did not bring out a villain that looks exactly like Mega Man X. His armor crest has also been switched to Sigma." - (Keisuke Mizuno)

Nomenclature

Language	Name	Origin
Japanese	χ-kai- (カイ)	Named after the Greek letter chi (uppercase Χ, lowercase χ). It resembles the Latin letter X, referring to his connection to the character X. The "-kai-" part simply shows his name's pronunciation (as chi may be pronounced "kee" or "kai").
English

Trivia

• The statement by χ-kai-'s designer, Keisuke Mizuno, about Capcom never introducing a villainous doppelganger of X is questionable. iX appeared in Rockman X Mega Mission in 1995, and Copy X appeared in Mega Man Zero in 2002. However, the former character was actually created by Bandai and the latter by Inti Creates, which could excuse Mizuno's remark.