Dragon Ball 10 Times Natural Talent Beat Hard Work

The characters in Dragon Ball are no strangers to training and practice, but there are times when natural ability comes out on top, too.

Akira Toriyama’s prolific shonen series, Dragon Ball, has proven to survive the test of time, and in many ways it’s even more popular now than when it was initially airing in the 1990s. One of the Dragon Ball’s assets is its ability to continually create incredible action sequences that feature increasingly powerful heroes and villains.

Goku and the rest of the series’ characters have come a long way from their humble starting points, and it’s always a memorable moment when lengthy training sagas are turned to in order to gain greater strength. Hard work is essential to survive in Dragon Ball, but there have also been a number of occasions where a character’s natural talent and abilities have led them to success.

10 The Universe 6 Saiyans Going Super Saiyan And Beyond

The milestone of transforming into a Super Saiyan used to be something that only a select few had experienced, but the bar to achieve this has become progressively lower. A lot of people were surprised when the pre-teen Goten and Trunks turn into Super Saiyans, but the process that Universe 6’s Saiyans go through is even more incidental. Cabba, Caulifla, and Kale have zero knowledge on the Super Saiyan boost, but it’s not long after Goku simply talks them through the process that they transform. It underscores how natural this is for them.

9 Pan Takes Flight Even As A Baby

Flight is one of the more plentiful abilities in Dragon Ball and even those with minimal ki manipulation abilities, like Videl, are able to take flight. That being said, it’s still a process that needs to be learned and characters aren’t just born with inherent flying abilities. However, Pan’s bloodline makes her so naturally powerful that she’s able to master the mechanics of flight entirely on her own as an infant. It’s certainly the youngest that a character has flown in Dragon Ball and speaks towards Pan’s potential in the future.

8 The Fighting Abilities Of The Androids And Cell’s Techniques

Goku and the rest of Dragon Ball’s heroes face many strong enemies, some of whom train to reach this point and others who are members of deadly alien species. The Androids are a highly dangerous threat, but their levels of strength are programmed by Dr. Gero, rather than the result of any actual hard work.

This principle is even more present in Gero’s ultimate creation, Cell, who has the DNA of Dragon Ball’s heroes. This allows Cell to perform all of their signature techniques, yet he doesn’t actually have to learn how to perform and master them. It’s biological.

7 Oolong And Puar Manipulate Others Through Metamorphosis

Dragon Ball is considerably lighter and more gag-centric at the start of the original series and there are plenty of odd characters that reflect this eccentric tone. Oolong and Puar come along early in the series, and these anthropomorphic creatures have the ability to freely shapeshift into objects, animals, or other individuals. This ability is inherent for them and they don’t have to continually work hard to master transformations or maintain them. They’re often able to use these disguises to aid them on their journeys.

6 Frieza’s Many Transformations Are A Natural Part Of His Species

Frieza explains that his Golden form is the result of him actually training for the first time, which means that all of his previous forms have come naturally. Frieza’s first form may be a decision to heavily mask his strength and only returns to his powerful natural state when it’s necessary. Additionally, Frieza’s first attempt at training is what triggers his new Golden form, but Frieza doesn’t appear to push himself too much or put in “hard work.” He does the bare minimum in training, yet that alone seems to be enough to push Frieza to this new power.

5 Gohan Transforms Into A Great Ape To Help Beat Vegeta

Before Super Saiyan transformations became all the rage in Dragon Ball, there were Great Ape transformations that helped give Saiyans a major boost in power. Saiyans don’t need to do anything to hone these skills and all that’s required is their biological tail and the presence of a full moon, or a solid surrogate.

Plenty of Saiyans unwillingly become Great Apes and trigger important events in the series as a result. One of the most significant is when young Gohan transforms during Goku’s battle with Vegeta, since he’s especially helpless during the metamorphosis.

4 Demon King Piccolo Asexually Reproduces His Army

Demon King Piccolo sets a dangerous precedent when it comes to Dragon Ball’s villains, which from that point forward become a series of powerful alien threats. King Piccolo proves himself to be a determined and terrifying enemy for a number of reasons, but one of his more useful skills is that he asexually reproduces an army of faithful fighters. Tambourine, Cymbal, Drum, Piano, and of course Piccolo Jr., are all just the end result of one of the character’s natural biological processes. These offspring all cause a lot of damage that rivals that of King Piccolo himself.

3 Goten And Trunks Learn The Fusion Dance

A groundbreaking maneuver that’s introduced in the later stages of Dragon Ball is fusion, both through Potara Earrings and a synchronized dance. Both of these procedures have their own perks and disadvantages, but there’s more room for error in the fusion dance, and those who aren’t perfectly in sync will experience the consequences. Goten and Trunks are very young, but they’re still able to pick up on the fusion dance incredibly quickly, just through watching it. Admittedly, they don’t nail it on their first try, but it’s also not something that they have to painstakingly work at to accomplish.

2 Goku Befriends Zeno Just By Being Himself

Dragon Ball effectively eases the characters and audience into the idea that there are many different tiers of celestial deities that exist in the universe. Dragon Ball Super brings even more revered figures into the mythology, like Gods of Destruction and Angels, but high above everyone else is the Omni-King, Zeno. Zeno can erase entire universes without breaking a sweat and everyone works hard to get on his good side and not trigger his temperamental impulses. However, it’s Goku’s natural innocence and obliviousness that wins Zeno over and earns his help as an ally.

1 Piccolo Destroys The Moon With A Special Beam Cannon

So much happens over the course of Dragon Ball’s hundreds of episodes that it can sometimes be easy to forget some of the more ridiculous smaller events that take place. Piccolo taking Gohan under his wing and putting him under rigorous survival training becomes pivotal for both characters. Gohan’s Great Ape transformation gets the better of him one night and his destructive rampage throws Piccolo into a panic. With very little thinking, Piccolo fires a Special Beam Cannon at the moon in order to neutralize Gohan’s transformation. Piccolo appears to effortlessly destroy the moon.