The first name that comes to mind when one is discussing the most powerful in Dragon Ball Z would be either Goku or Vegeta. Goku because of the legendary Freiza fight (and Kaioken), and Vegeta because of his relentless aura of destruction. But wait, who was the first hero to reach the million mark in terms of power level? Definitely, Freiza, but the hero who did it first was none other than Piccolo.
The Namekian was able to achieve this incredible power upgrade right after being revived in the Frieza narrative. Piccolo did it by absorbing the abilities and corpse of his companion, the Namek soldier Nail. Piccolo’s power surge surpasses Frieza’s evolved condition, even while wearing weighty gear.
How did Piccolo Get so Strong?
Piccolo wasn’t really practicing to improve his power but rather to create the unique beam cannon. It’s rather strange that he grew so powerful even after training with a super saiyan like Goku, but Piccolo’s Z has consistently increased dramatically.
He magically increased his strength level from 408 against Raditz to 3,500 versus Vegeta and Nappa. Keep in mind that he trained Gohan, who had little control over his strength at the time. For the first six months, Gohan had to rely on himself as Piccolo prepared alone, which was ineffective.
He trained alongside Gohan for half a year, during which time he progressed from being three to four times less potent than Raditz to being slightly more than twice as strong.
It is important to note that after dying and traversing the serpent route, he only studied with King Kai for a week and did most of his training. However, he moved beyond a power threshold of 3,500 to being powerful enough to amaze Nail, who had a power level of 42,000.
What Sets him apart from other Characters?
What really sets Piccolo apart from other characters are two things. The first is his singlehandedly killing Raditz and Goku concurrently with his Special Beam Cannon. Surprisingly, he is the sole heroic figure who completes the task.
Although he doesn’t immediately become a hero after firing the strike, he eventually does.
He isn’t even portraying himself as a villain as he assassinates Goku; the two are in the midst of a short ceasefire at the time. As a matter of fact, even revered ex-anti-heroes like Tien Shinhan or Mr. Buu cannot claim to have done anything comparable before abandoning their wicked ways.
Second was when Piccolo, like Goku, was transported to Earth in time to prevent being a victim of a horrific disaster. In Goku’s instance, he barely misses the destruction of Planet Vegeta, becoming one of the civilization’s final remnants. Piccolo describes a catastrophic disaster that wipes all but two individuals on the planet he calls home, Namek, rather than destroying it.
