Summary
Given thatDragon Ballimplements a ton of cliches when it comes to writing its protagonist, it’s easy to see why most people assume that Goku is dumb. He makes stupid remarks numerous times and can seem a bit ditzy.
However, he’s a completely different beast in battle, showing a level of intelligence that fans don’t expect from him. This allows Goku to carry out some smart decisions on-the-fly that help him gain the edge in a battle.
8Holding On To Raditz' Tail To Keep Him In Place
After struggling against Raditz even with Piccolo’s help, Goku remembered that his tail was a weak spot and decided to hold on to his brother’s appendage to paralyze. This would’ve been one of his smartest moments had it not been for his gullible nature.
All Raditz had to do was utter some false promises to make Goku drop the tail, which was incredibly short-sighted from the protagonist. Ultimately, he had to use a Full Nelson hold anddie along with Raditzas Piccolo used the Special Beam Cannon to win the battle.
7Using A Kamehameha With His Feet To Launch Himself
Prevented Himself From Being Knocked Out Of The Tournament
The original run ofDragon Ballhad a focus on tournament fights, and Goku was on the verge of being knocked out duringone such battle against Piccolo Jr.However, the Saiyan was quick on his feet and used a classic technique to save himself from trouble.
He positioned himself in the air and used a Kamehameha with his feet to propel himself in Piccolo’s direction, landing a savage two-handed punch. It’s one of the smartest uses of a Kamehameha in the series that showed just how adept Goku was at using this legendary technique.
6Throwing A Frog In The Nick Of Time To Nullify Ginyu’s Body Change Technique
Impressive Quick Thinking Given How Injured Goku Was At That Time
Ginyu is one of the funniest antagonists in the series who was instantly outclassed by Goku and decided to use the Body Change technique to turn the tables. Thankfully, the protagonist managed to regain control of his body, but the battle was still far from over.
Ginyu unleashed the Body Change technique against a reckless Vegeta, which is when Goku wracked his brain even after being heavily injured. He found a frog and chucked it in the nick of time, taking out Ginyu’s threat in the smartest and most hilarious manner possible.
5Stalling Majin Buu By Slowly Going Through His Transformations
Gave Trunks The Time He Needed To Get The Dragon Radar
After the birth of Majin Buu, Goku had to buy time for Trunks and distract both Buu and Babidi. He did this by giving both villains an education on how the Super Saiyan transformations worked.
It instantly grabbed Buu’s attention and allowed viewers to witnessthe majesty of Super Saiyan 3as well, killing two birds with one stone. Even after Trunks stalled midway when witnessing Goku’s strength, he still had more than enough time to recover the Dragon Radar.
4Deceiving Frieza To Land Some Hits Before His Super Saiyan Transformation
Exploited The Fact That His Opponent Couldn’t Detect Energy
It was clear thatFrieza had outclassed Gokuin terms of pure strength, who had to get innovative with his offense to land some hits. He did this by hiding underwater and using two delayed ki attacks to fool Frieza.
Since the tyrant couldn’t sense energy, he was easily fooled by this technique and punished with a powerful dropkick. It was a small victory in this battle that showed Goku’s strength, but it was clear that the Saiyan needed something more to turn the tables against the strongest foe he’d ever faced.
3Goku Figuring Out Hit’s Time-Skip
The Assassin’s Technique Befuddled The Show’s Strongest Warriors, But Goku Figured It Out
The battle between Universe 6 and 7 saw some of the strongest and most accomplished warriors from Goku’s world in attendance. All of them were left flummoxed by Hit’s Time-Skip ability, with Vegeta succumbing to this technique.
However, Goku was cut from a different cloth and stayed in his base form until he figured out a way to counter Hit’s Time-Skip, which is one of the most underrated moments in the series that showed just how impressive Goku’s battle IQ was. Whilethe debut of Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-kenovershadowed this moment, fans will appreciate how smart Goku was during this fight on a rewatch.
2Using Instant Transmission To Hit Cell In The Face With A Resounding Kamehameha
One Of The Greatest Kamehamehas In The Series
Goku’s best moments come courtesy of an impressive use of his Kamehameha, and combining this move with Instant Transmission was a great way to show how ingenious this Saiyan was with this technique. After charging a hellacious Kamehameha and aiming down at Cell, the Z Fighters assumed that Goku was throwing caution to the wind and destroying the planet to defeat Cell.
He fooled everyone until the last second, using Instant Transmission to transport himself right in front of Cell and blast a Kamehameha right in the bio-android face. If Cell didn’t have regenerative powers, he would’ve been toast at this moment.
1Sliding On Kefla’s Beam Attack To Avoid Any Damage And Close The Distance
Realized That His Imperfect Ultra Instinct Form Was On A Timer And Adapted On The Fly
Dragon Ball Supertook a while to get going before coming out of Z’s shadow, withthe Tournament of Powershowing the very best of whatDragon Ballhad to offer. Goku unlocked the Imperfect Ultra Instinct form during this competition that reared its head when he was struggling against Kefla.
Goku was already exhausted at this point and needed to unleash all his power in a single hit, deciding to charge a Divine Kamehameha that would take no prisoners. His Ultra Instinct reflexes helped him dodge Kefla’s attack until he was in mid-air and Kefla decided to launch a powerful beam attack at his opponent. However, at this moment, Goku’s instincts kicked in and he used his brains to slide along Kefla’s attack, launching what just might be the greatest Kamehameha ever fired by this Saiyan in the series.
