Dragon Ball 5 Characters Who Can Ride The Nimbus (& 5 Who Can’t)

Being pure of heart is the one criteria for riding the Flying Nimbus, but not everyone in Dragon Ball has the purity to ride the golden cloud.

Given to Goku as a gift by Master Roshi when the two first met, the Flying Nimbus enables someone to fly around without using any of their own energy. The only catch is that only someone who is pure of heart can ride it. In the Dragon Ball world, this doesn't just mean that someone has to be a good guy: Bulma, Master Roshi, and Krillin aren't evil people, yet they couldn't ride the Nimbus at all.

In Dragon Ball, someone being pure of heart means they not only retain most of their innocence, but they do a good job at keeping their rage in check and standing up for others. For a long time, the Nimbus wasn't used, since flying became a skill that everyone learned, but Goku brought it back in Dragon Ball Super when he found himself unable to fly on his own in the Forest of Terror. Since that moment, many fans have taken a newfound interest in the gold cloud, and even debate over which characters would still be able to ride it to this day, and which one's could never ever dream of it.

10 Can: Gohan

As Goku's son, Gohan was raised by his father's valiant values, which explains why he could ride the Nimbus way into his young adulthood. Despite showing a more prideful, ferocious side of himself when facing foes like Cell and Buu, Gohan still retains a righteous sense of justice, demonstrated by his selfless concern for others that prompted him to adopt the alias of Great Saiyaman in the first place.

9 Can't: Piccolo

Originally, Piccolo was just as evil as any other Dragon Ball villain. He dreamt of Goku's death, and wanted to spread destruction throughout the land just as King Piccolo did. Fortunately, he found himself renouncing his evil ways, largely due to bonding with Gohan, who was the first person to accept him without judgment. He may have fused with Kami and Nail, two of the most honorable Namekians out there, but that doesn't make him the bastion of purity just yet.

While he's willing to lay down his life for the safety of others, he still has a tendency to let his anger get the best of him, particularly when dealing with young hybrid Saiyans like Gohan, Goten, or Trunks. He might need to expunge some of that excess wrath that still lives within him before he has any chance at stepping on the Nimbus.

8 Can: Goku

Many fans doubted that Goku would still be able to ride the Nimbus after so many years, especially since he's shown a selfish side in Dragon Ball Super. Despite countless warnings to stay away from Zeno, he disobeyed these orders just because he wanted to fight stronger foes from other universes.

Still, he'll always remain pure of heart because his motivations truly possess no malintent, and are just an innocent as they've always been. He fights to test his own limits, protect those closest to him, and doesn't do so necessarily to win, like other warriors.

7 Can't: Goku Black

Despite possessing Goku's body and his techniques, Goku Black wouldn't be able to ride the Nimbus because of his crooked beliefs and non-aversion to violence as a means to achieve his twisted goals. Apparently, Goku Black and Zamasu both have pure hearts because they genuinely see themselves as doing the universe a favor, but it should be noted that Whis and Beerus sensed malice emanating from Goku Black during his visit to the past.

Despite having a pure heart due to his misguided beliefs, it's impossible for even Goku Black to hide the evil that crept its way into his heart as a result of carrying out the Zero Mortals Plan.

6 Can: Lunch (Good)

Lunch is one of the most peculiar Earthlings in all of Dragon Ball, since she's essentially two people rolled into one. Whenever she sneezes, she shifts between a dark-haired, kinder version of herself and a blonde trigger happy criminal. While it's obvious that Bad Lunch wouldn't be able to ride the Flying Nimbus due to her lust for materials and propensity for violence, Good Lunch actually can.

When Goku and Krillin first encountered her, she was able to ride on the Nimbus back to Kame House, and was so naive & trusting that she never became cognizant of Roshi's many schemes to sneak a peek at her, often giving him the benefit of the doubt when his behavior became too questionable.

5 Can't: Mr. Satan

Mr. Satan not only took all the credit for Cell's defeat, but has no problem basking in the riches and fame that came along with this fabrication. While no in the Dragon Team seems to mind, the fact that Satan is keeping up such a rouse would cause him to drop right through the Nimbus if he ever jumped on top of it.

4 Can: Uub

Like most other young warriors in Dragon Ball, Uub can definitely ride the Flying Nimbus despite once being Kid Buu– an incarnation of pure, indiscriminate evil– in his past life. In a special 2004 edition of the manga, Goku was shown giving Uub the Flying Nimbus as the two left Papaya Island after withdrawing from their match. Given that Uub will spend much of his younger life training under Goku and inheriting his values, just as Gohan had, it's plausible that Uub will be able to ride the Nimbus well into his teenage years.

3 Can't: Vegeta

While Vegeta started off as a bloodthirsty villain, he changed a lot towards the end of Dragon Ball Z, becoming just as much of a hero as Goku. Despite allowing himself to be turned into one of Babidi's minions, he redeemed himself after sacrificing his life to stop Majin Buu. He also went out of his way to save warriors like Cabba and Master Roshi during the Tournament of Power, and when he was knocked off of the ring by Jiren, he was more frustrated that he couldn't protect those closest to him. And yet there's just one vice that will stop him from riding the Nimbus: pride.

It's his pride that often causes him to act foolishly. For example, it stopped him from giving energy to Goku's Genki Dama during the Tournament of Power, which didn't make any logical sense. Vegeta might be on the side of good, but he needs to overcome his pride before he can hope to ride the Nimbus. But knowing him, he wouldn't want to use the Nimbus since it belongs to Goku in the first place.

2 Can: Arale

Fans of Dr. Slump know that Arale isn't as innocent as she appears. In Akira Toriyama's other popular series, she acts like a naive child, but is smart enough to perform complex equations on her own and constantly tells her creator that she desires a bigger chest. Still, at heart, she's just a fun-loving child and most likely doesn't understand the context of the perverted things she might say.

Even when she fought General Blue, she did so under the pretense that they were playing, and she wasn't trying to get revenge or even hurt him (despite doing just that). Unfortunately, when she met Goku again in Dragon Ball Super, the two didn't have time to go for a spin on the Nimbus, given the fact that Beerus got involved and took the fun out of everything.

1 Can't: Beerus

As a God of Destruction, Beerus plays a pivotal role in maintaining balance, so he's not faulted for the billions of lives he's taken over centuries, since he's just doing his job. It's his poor attitude that bars him from riding the Nimbus. He carries himself with a hint of superiority, and looks down on mortals, punishing them for petty offenses like preparing food that wasn't to his liking.

He's also pretty selfish, ruining Bulma's birthday party only because he wanted to fight a Super Saiyan God. God of Destruction or not, the Nimbus would reject him almost as fast as any villain simply because his personality frankly sucks.