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Kaioken is one of the first (and coolest, honestly) power-ups introduced inDragon Ball. Although it is “weaker” than most transformations like Super Saiyan, it is actually one of the trickiest power-ups as it has some downsides and can easily lead to exhaustion.
Of the main characters, only Goku has learned to use Kaioken (inDragon Ball Z, in the anime). After SSJ was introduced in the series, many fans expected that he would eventually combine both SSJ and Kaioken. However, in the manga, he never does it. Why exactly doesn’t he combine them to become even more powerful?
What Is Kaioken in Dragon Ball?
Kaioken, sometimes spelled “Kaio-ken”, and also known as King Kai Fist, is a technique invented by King Kai/North Kai (as the name suggests). It increases the power, strength and speed of those who use it. However, it is a costly technique and it requires precisekicontrol.
When Kaioken is active, the user’s aura turns red, and it must remain active with its aura at all times. As expected, it causes tremendous stress, and can even generate heat, putting the life of the user at risk and leading to exhaustion while allowing them to fight stronger enemies.
How Did Goku Learn Kaioken?
Goku learned Kaioken while preparing for the arrival of the Saiyans (in the anime, inDragon Ball Z). As expected, since this is a technique created by North Kai, he learned it while training in the Other World.
King Kai taught Goku both Kaioken and the Spirit Bomb, which became his signature for a while. Kaioken is extensively explored inDBZbefore Goku turns into Super Saiyan. After SSJ was introduced, Kaioken became less proeminent.
The first time Goku uses Kaioken is when he fights Nappa. Actually, there are “power-up levels” of Kaioken, and, in the series, we see Goku using up to Kaioken x20. These are all the levels of Kaioken that Goku uses throughout the series:
Supposedly,the more “powered up"the harder it is to controlkiand the more risky it is to use the technique.
Kaioken is atechnique, not a transformation. So it is theoretically possible to combine it with SSJ or any other transformation.
The Challenges of Combining Kaioken and Super Saiyan
Kaioken is not a transformation, so it is technically possible to use this technique while transformed into Super Saiyan. Although Goku never does it in the original manga, he actuallydoes combine Kaioken and SSJ a few times in the anime, which is called Super Kaioken. He also uses Super Kaioken intheDragon Ball Superanime, and he later combines Kaioken with Super Saiyan Blue (Blue Kaioken).
However, in the manga, heonly uses Blue Kaiokenand, since Toriyama was involved inSuper’s manga, fans speculate that he never wanted Goku to mix Kaioken and SSJ, except for SSJ Blue. For this reason, many fans consider that Super Kaioken is not canon.
But if Kaioken and SSJ can potentially be combined, why doesn’t Goku do it in the manga? The answer is actually inDragon Ball Super:Kaioken and SSJ make a deadly combination, because SSJ is a transformation that involves emotional stress, so SSJ cannot controlkias required to use Kaioken.
I know it’s risky, but there’s a big payoff, too! Super Saiyan Blue is about power through extreme control! Combining that with the calming focus of the Kaioken and there’s no telling how high I can go!
— Goku inDBS
With this explanation,it makes sense that Goku “canonically” only uses it as SSJ Blue, since Blue requires a calm mind and focus— this “calmki” allows the user to combine it with Kaioken while mitigating the risks.
Why Haven’t Others Learned Kaioken?
While there are no clear answers as to why theother Z Warriors who trained with King Kaihaven’t learned Kaioken, somespeculate that human bodies would not be able to handle the techniqueand that Goku was only able to learn it because he is a Saiyan.
As for why other Saiyans haven’t tried to learn it, it probably has to do with the risks involved, and the fact that they could gain more power by turning into SSJ — at least, that would explain it in-story, but the truth is probably that Toriyama wanted to try new things and left Kaioken aside. If Kaioken can’t be combined with SSJ, it wouldn’t make much sense for them to try to learn it.
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Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball is a franchise by Akira Toriyama which follows the adventures of Goku, a powerful warrior who protects the earth with his group of friends. A recent title from the series is Dragon Ball: The Breakers, an action style game where 7 players have to survive being hunted by the Raider.
