Piccolo - Dragon Ball

Piccolo is a recurring character in the Dragon Ball franchise. He debuts as the reincarnation of the Evil King Piccolo in the Dragon Ball Z series, making him, at the time, a primary antagonist and enemy of Son Goku. It is later discovered that Piccolo is, in fact, a member of the Namekian race from Planet Namek. After an arduous battle at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, Piccolo loses and later joins Goku to defeat Raditz. Piccolo is also the first to tutor Goku's first son, Son Gohan. Piccolo wears a purple gi and a red waistband with a weighted cloak and turban. He is voiced by Toshio Furukawa as an adult and Hiromi Tsuru as a child in all Japanese versions.

Appearances in Dragon Ball

Piccolo is first introduced in Dragon Ball as the reincarnation of Evil King Piccolo. His plan is to continue his predecessor's domination of the world and get revenge on Goku. Piccolo defeats Krillin at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai tournament under the nickname ‘Demon Junior’. He also defeats Kami, who is disguised as Shen, sealing him with a reflected ‘Evil Containment Wave’. Piccolo is tricked by Goku into using his giant form and Kami is released. From there, Piccolo loses the fight when Goku headbutts him out of the ring. Afterwards, Goku gives Piccolo a senzu bean and he promises to get revenge on Goku as he leaves.

Appearances in Dragon Ball Z

Five years later in the Dragon Ball Z series, Raditz arrives on Earth and Piccolo realizes that Raditz is a terrible threat. Piccolo then teams up with Goku to defeat Raditz. Piccolo then hears from Raditz that two more Saiyans are coming to Earth and that they seek the Dragon Balls. He is surprised by Gohan’s power and decides to train him to prepare for the Saiyans’ arrival.

During the training, Piccolo destroys the moon to stop Gohan from transforming into his Great Ape form and removes his tail. His harsh demeanor changes while training Gohan, making him much softer as he begins to bond with the son of his once archnemesis. During the fight with Nappa and Vegeta, Piccolo comes to understand his origin as a Namekian. He tries to encourage Gohan to fight, but Gohan is too afraid. After being encouraged to end the battle quickly, Nappa fires a strong energy blast towards Gohan that Piccolo steps in front of to sacrifice himself and save Gohan’s life. This leads to Earth’s Dragon Balls becoming inert.

Piccolo is wished back to life and transported to Namek with the Namekian Dragon Balls, allowing him to join the fight against Frieza. On the way to the battle, Piccolo fuses with a Namekian warrior called Nail and becomes much stronger. Frieza transforms into his third form and Piccolo is easily outmatched. After Frieza transforms into his final form, Piccolo is shot through the chest with a death beam and is taken completely out of action. Gohan carries Piccolo away from the battle, as dying would mean the Earth’s Dragon Balls disappear again. He is later taken back to Earth using a wish from Earth's Dragon Balls.

Piccolo trains with Goku and Gohan for three years before the Androids arrive. He tries to defeat Dr. Gero, but fails to stop him from activating Android 17 and Android 18. Suffering a defeat at the hands of Android 17, Piccolo opts to fuse with Kami to gain a huge power increase. After this, Piccolo learns of Cell, whom Piccolo confronts and learns more about. Piccolo fights Android 17 again and seems to be evenly matched, however Cell arrives and the fight is cut short as Cell attempts to absorb the Androids, despite Piccolo’s best efforts. Following the battle with Cell, Piccolo spends time training in the hyperbolic time chamber in preparation for Cell’s tournament. There, he fights one of the Cell Juniors, but is handily defeated until being saved by Super Saiyan 2 Gohan.

Seven years later, Piccolo is ready to fight Supreme Kai in at the 25th World Martial Arts tournament, but forfeits after discovering the true identity of Supreme Kai. Afterwards, he follows Supreme Kai to Babidi’s hideout in an attempt to thwart Babidi’s plans. Unfortunately, Piccolo is turned into stone by Dabura. Dabura’s death, however, returns Piccolo to normal and he quickly attempts to kill Babidi. Angered at Piccolo’s attempted assassination, Babidi calls for Piccolo to come forward or he will begin to exterminate humans. Piccolo is preparing to go to Babidi, but is dissuaded by Goku, who tells him his knowledge and experience with training others is sorely needed. In the absence of strong fighters, Piccolo begins training Son Goten and Trunks to achieve their fused form, Gotenks.

During the fight with Majin Buu in the hyperbolic time chamber, Piccolo destroys the entrance, sealing himself, Gotenks and Majin Buu inside. Majin Buu manages to escape by ripping through reality with his sheer power, leaving Piccolo and Gotenks trapped. Luckily though, Gotenks performs a similar feat to create an exit that he and Piccolo escape though in pursuit of Majin Buu. After they are absorbed by Majin Buu he is later freed by Goku and Vegeta, along with the other characters that were absorbed. He helps give energy to Goku for the final Spirit Bomb attack used to defeat Kid Buu.

Appearances in Dragon Ball Super

In Dragon Ball Super, Piccolo, having been killed by a resurrected Frieza, is subsequently brought back to life and begins to train Gohan once more. He then joins the tournament against Universe 6 where he loses to Frost. When Future Trunks arrives, Piccolo suggests using the ‘Evil Containment Wave’ to seal Goku Black.

Piccolo agrees to participate in the Tournament of Power, where he loses both of his arms and is forced to retreat by Universe 2's Prum. He later shares his energy with Goku during his fight against Universe 11's Jiren. Piccolo and Gohan also work together to eliminate Universe 6’s Saonel and Pirina. However, Piccolo is then knocked out of the tournament by Universe 4's Damon.

Appearances in Dragon Ball GT

In Dragon Ball GT, Piccolo saves Goten after he is released from Baby’s control and proceeds to battle Gohan (controlled by Baby), where he is clearly overpowered and wounded. After Baby is defeated, Piccolo sacrifices himself to destroy the Black Star Dragon Balls once and for all. Upon dying, he goes to Heaven, but forces King Yenma to send him to Hell so he can free a trapped Goku. Piccolo refuses to be wished back to life so that the Black Star dragon balls remain unusable. In the last episode, he is seen to be something like a guardian of Hell when Goku goes to offer a final goodbye.

Powers and Abilities

Piccolo has a range of abilities that he displays throughout the series. In addition to super-speed, super-strength and the ability to fly; being a Namekian grants Piccolo the ability to stretch his arms and regenerate lost limbs. Among his techniques are:

Super Giant Form - allows Piccolo’s body to grow to giant sizes.
Exploding Wave or Destructive Wave - an energy beam fired from one hand using the other as support.
Special Beam Cannon - a charged energy beam attack that takes the form of a spiral or drill and travels at the speed of light.
Hellzone Grenade - an attack that has Piccolo fire many energy orbs around the opponent. He then brings them all together to envelop his enemy in the following blast.
Masenko - one of his signature attacks that he teaches to Gohan before Nappa and Vegeta arrive.
Light Grenade - an attack where he gathers energy and releases it as a blast in all directions.
Namekian Fusion - Like all Namekians, Piccolo can perform a kind of fusion unique to Namekians. This fusion is permanent.

Links

Dragon Ball Series
Dragon Ball Z Series
Dragon Ball Kai Series
Dragon Ball Super Series
Dragon Ball GT Series
Super Dragon Ball Heros
Akira Toriyama