Piccolo Jr.



Long, long ago, a Namek came to the planet Earth and brought about the seven Dragon Balls with which we are all familiar. One day, in an attempt to purify himself, something went wrong: part of him literally split and formed a new self. This evil half, calling himself King Piccolo, began a campaign to conquer the world...a campaign that was fatally cut short by Goku. In a last-ditch move, King Piccolo spat out an egg, which shot far away. Time would pass, and this egg will eventually produce the Piccolo we know today. This new Piccolo has the memories of his former self, so for the early years of his life, Piccolo had only one thought on his mind: kill Goku! That turned out to be much more difficult than anticipated. Time and again, he'd hatch up a new trick...only to be one-upped by the indomitable Goku. Finally, hatreds had to be put aside when a new threat appeared from out of nowhere: Goku's brother, Raditz. Teaming with Goku, they fought Raditz and found themselves outclassed...until Gohan suddenly assailed Raditz and Goku took advantage and got a hold of him. Goku begged Piccolo to finish the job...and Piccolo did just that, finally getting his lifelong wish and sending Goku off to the next dimension (and in the process, taking out Raditz). But upon learning that two more Saiyans would arrive in one year, Piccolo had to make a plan, and the first thing that came to mind was Gohan. He had sensed the sudden power spike when Gohan had attacked Raditz, and Piccolo realized that Gohan had inherited Goku's fighting potential, so he took Gohan away for a year of the roughest, toughest training he could find, throwing Gohan into the middle of the wilderness. His aim was to make Gohan understand the harsh reality of combat as well as to toughen him up and possibly awaken that intense power he had sensed before. In the meantime, Piccolo got down to his own regimen. He thinks of himself as his own greatest enemy, so his training technique usually involves using a split form to self-duel. The time passes, and the results begin to show. Both he and Gohan could stand tall with the rest of the Z fighters as they stared down Nappa and Vegeta. Then, as the fighting grew intense, Piccolo did something uncharacteristically brave. After an enraged Gohan had given Nappa a nasty kick, Nappa prepared to send Gohan off to the next dimension...but Piccolo took the blast himself! Piccolo and Kami (his better half), unfortunately, are still linked together, so when Piccolo goes, so does Kami, and after Nappa is taken out and Vegeta driven away, a new quest begins...to locate the Dragon Balls of Namek and revive Piccolo (and Kami with him). When Piccolo once again appears in the mortal plane, he looks upon the world which he had never seen and yet knew was his origin: Namek. Soon afterward, he comes upon a rather beaten-up Namek warrior named Nail. Nail tells Piccolo of Frieza...then makes an offer. Unable to fight, Nail offers to fuse himself with Piccolo and combine their powers. Piccolo, after some resistance, finally agrees. The fusion of Piccolo and Nail takes the transformation of Piccolo's once-cold personality one step further and gives the Namek newfound strength. It becomes clear by now that Piccolo has changed dramatically. Not only does Piccolo keep a watchful eye on his protege, Gohan, making sure he stays out of trouble, but his manner becomes less heartless and more cooperative. He begins to become more accepted among the Z fighters. And yet, he still has his disagreements with Kami, but at least he's tolerant of his presence and willing to listen a little bit. Each knows where the other stands and will not cross the line...until something even more dreadful appears: Cell. Realizing that no other alternative is available, Piccolo pleads for Kami to fuse with him. With no other alternative available, Kami regrettably agrees. Thus, the two halves of that one Namek are finally one once again. Today, Piccolo is a highly-respected fighter. He will willingly fight with the other Z fighters (especially Gohan) and is willing to take the hit if necessary. His signature move is the Special Beam Cannon, and as a Namek, has regenerative abilities. However, Piccolo still remembers his bad old days, and if he needs to, he can still be downright nasty. The name Piccolo means "another world" in the Namek tongue.