Gohan (孫 悟飯, Son Gohan) is the first son of Goku and Chi-Chi, the older brother of Goten, the husband of Videl, and the father of Pan. Gohan is also the first hybrid (half Human, half Saiyan) to appear in the series. He is named after Goku's adoptive Grandpa Gohan. Gohan's name is a homophone for gohan (御飯), the Japanese word for "cooked rice," which also refers to meals in general. In Mandarin, the reading of 悟飯 is homophone for 午飯 (wûfàn), meaning lunch.
Gohan is a shy and studious intellectual, and as a child, he lacks the Saiyan fighting spirit. He must utilize his incredible half-breed Saiyan potential and emotional reserves to protect those he loves, becoming one of the most powerful Z Fighters. As an adult, he achieves his dream career of becoming a great scholar.
Gohan, being only half-Saiyan, is unusual in his values and personality. These unique values and personality separate him from pure Saiyans; as powerful as he is, he does not like fighting much. However, when he is forced to fight, he shows special interest in protecting his family and friends. Like his father, Goku, Gohan has a pure and gentle heart. Also like his father, he has the typical Saiyan appetite. Besides concerning himself with his family (and his studies), Gohan has a strong attachment with his mentor: his father's former archrival named Piccolo. Piccolo was forced to train Gohan after the death of Goku. At first, the relationship with Piccolo is a frightening one, but after just one year, Piccolo admits his change because of the friendship he develops with Gohan and even sacrifices himself to save the boy. Because of this, Piccolo can be considered as a surrogate father for Gohan. Krillin also has influence on Gohan, as almost an uncle/nephew relationship, mainly because Krillin is Goku's closest friend. Though he claims he does not share the love of fighting Goku has, Gohan does indeed love martial arts and adventure. It is also clearly obvious he greatly enjoys being a hero.
As a child, Gohan is known to have within him a seemingly limitless dormant power, which at first only revealed itself when he experienced fierce rage, and when his rage ended, his power would drop dramatically. The earliest occurance of this hidden power was when he almost crashed into a tree when his stroller was accidentally released, giving him enough power to plow a hole clean through the trunk to prevent him from being killed by flying into it as an infant.[1]
Cell Games Saga, #171/156 ("Memories of Gohan")</ref> As he got older, he trained hard and gained access to a large portion of his power, and it was not until he was a young adult that his power was fully awakened and he was able to use it all at his own will. He displays exceptional power at a very young age, even surpassing his father Goku by turning into Super Saiyan 2 form and saving the world from the evil Cell at only eleven years old (he is 9 years old in the manga - in the manga it states that Gohan is 16 years old after the 7 years of peace following the Cell Games - though he is most likely around the physical age of 10 due to the time spent nearly a year inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber). Gohan is the first and the youngest to ever achieve Super Saiyan 2, he is also the only unfused half saiyan to ever reach this level.
Gohan's appearance changes drastically through Dragon Ball Z, due to the fact that the series starts out with him as a child and ends when he is fully grown, married, and with a child of his own. But Gohan's basic physical appearance pretty much stays the same through the course of the series. Gohan has black hair and black eyes, he also has his mother's light peach complexion, rather than his father's light tan. Gohan also is quite muscularly developed for his age. As an adult, he looks slightly taller than Goku, but he is also a little bit thinner.
When Gohan is first introduced, he wears a child's outfit with his family name, 'Son' written on the front, and his hat has the Four-Star Dragon Ball attached to it, the same Dragon Ball in which Goku believed that his grandpa's spirit resided.
While training with Piccolo, he wears an outfit similar to Goku's original, with the 'Ma' symbol (魔) King Piccolo wore. After training with Piccolo, he has a mullet-type haircut and dons a similar attire to the Namek warrior which he continues to wear until the end of the Captain Ginyu Saga, after which he wears Saiyan-style armor given to him by Vegeta. He would continue to wear clothing similar to Piccolo's for the majority of his childhood, but his hair trended closer to his father's wild self-cut style. While training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, he begins wearing Saiyan training gear, but again reverts to Piccolo's clothing for the Cell Games.
As a teenager, he alternates between a school uniform, his Great Saiyaman costume, a blue gi similar to the Piccolo clothing (except larger in size), a replica of the gi his father Goku wore while he was alive, and during the Buu Saga, he wears Kai clothing given to him by Kibito. His hair is much shorter and stands on end in a spiky formation.
As a adult in the end of Dragon Ball Z and in Dragon Ball GT, Gohan's hair would be similar to how it was in the Buu Arc minus the bang. In GT, he is usually seen dressed as like a professor or a businessman, in a suit and a tie. He also wears eyeglasses, even though he shows no sign of actually needing them, due to the fact that he doesn't need them to fight. It is possible, however, that these are reading glasses of some kind, as opposed to general corrective glasses. When facing Omega Shenron, Gohan wears a gi resembling that of the ones Goku used to wear.
Gohan was born in May of Age 757, about a year after Goku and Chi-Chi married following the conclusion of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. As a newborn he went on for a time without a name until Goku's grandfather's name was mentioned, which Gohan liked. His early childhood was a pampered one, unlike his father's. His life was relatively well-balanced with a loving family and a nice home. Gohan was well-adjusted and intelligent, but unlike his father as a child, he lacked any affection for fighting and was easily scared at a level that most normal children would be. Goku gave Gohan the four star Dragon Ball and put it into a hat for him to honor his grandpa. Once, Goku and Chi-Chi were walking through a meadow with Gohan on a stroller, but the stroller was accidentially released, causing them to chase after it. Gohan was then sent flying out of the stroller, but his latent powers brief awakening not only allowed him to survive crashing into a tree, but also plowing a hole through the trunk, amazing Goku at the hidden power of Gohan.[1]
Despite Goku's protests, Chi-Chi home-schooled Gohan to be a scholar until he was four, before Goku took him to Kame Island to introduce him to Master Roshi, Bulma and Krillin. At this time, he is shown as a shy, but very smart boy who also has a tail like Goku once had before it was removed. He is also very sensitive and appears cowardly at some times. After Goku's brother, Raditz, explained his Saiyan origins and attacked Goku, he kidnapped Gohan. Gohan would soon be locked up in Raditz's space pod, because Raditz could not stand his crying. It was during this time that Raditz discovered that Gohan was potentially far stronger than Goku himself.
During the battle between Goku, Raditz, and Piccolo, Gohan became angry and broke free of the space pod he was being held captive in. He delivered a devastating blow to Raditz, giving Goku and Piccolo time to kill the evil alien, though Goku died in the process as well.
Gohan trains with Piccolo in preparation for the Saiyan attack
After the battle with Raditz, Piccolo, having seen Gohan's power first hand, decided to take Gohan out training in the wilderness. He left Gohan alone to survive against dinosaurs and other dangers for six months, though during this time he watched Gohan carefully. For the rest of the year, Piccolo showed no mercy as he taught Gohan how to fight. While training, Gohan accidentally looked at a full moon and transformed into a Great Ape. Piccolo then destroyed the moon causing Gohan to revert back into his normal form.
Gohan's first usage of the Masenko, after becoming enraged by Piccolo's noble death
Soon, Gohan's bright and cheerful nature made Piccolo protective over the young boy. When the time came for the Z Fighters to take on the remaining two Saiyans, Vegeta and Nappa, Gohan was able to control his fear, but at times his age caught up with him, and he became frightened. This prevented him from being very effective in the battle, except for short intervals, such as a point when he single-handedly kicked Nappa through a boulder.
When Nappa fired a lethal energy blast at Gohan, Piccolo threw himself in front of Gohan and took the impact. Gohan was deeply angered by Piccolo's death and in turn fired a powerful Masenko at Nappa, which did some damage to his arm. Gohan runs out of energy, and is almost squashed by Nappa, but is saved by the Flying Nimbus when the resurrected Goku had finally arrived at the battle. After eating a Senzu Bean with Krillin, he watches Goku overpowering Nappa. When Vegeta kills Nappa, Goku tells Gohan to let him battle Vegeta alone, not wanting Gohan to get hurt again.
Later on, after Vegeta turns into a Great Ape using a Power Ball and injures Goku, Gohan returns to the battle. After Yajirobe chops off Vegeta's tail, making him transform back, Gohan fights Vegeta alone while Krillin and a broken Goku prepare to fire a Spirit Bomb, the last resort. Krillin fires the Spirit Bomb, but misses. Gohan bounces it back, hitting Vegeta, but not killing him. Gohan himself transforms into a Great Ape after looking at Vegeta's Power Ball. He defeats Vegeta by landing on him after Vegeta cuts his tail with a Destructo Disk. Afterwards, Goku lets Vegeta go, hoping to one day face him again.
"Frieza's going to hunt me down wherever I go. The last thing I want to do is lead him back to Earth."
— Gohan talking to Bulma before leaving to fight Frieza alone.
Gohan chose to go to the Planet Namek with Krillin and Bulma to gather the Namekian Dragon Balls to bring back his friends back to life, because Piccolo's death caused Kami's death too, which caused the Earth's Dragon Balls to turn to stone. Gohan was on a personal mission to wish back Piccolo and went so far as to wear a copy of Piccolo's dōgi to honor him.
After their long trip, they finally make it to Namek, where they find out Vegeta has also come seeking the Dragon Balls, along with his former far more powerful boss, Frieza. While scouting the planet with Krillin, Gohan spots Frieza and his minions, Zarbon and Dodoria, tormenting Namekian villagers. When Gohan sees Dodoria, one of Frieza's top henchmen, attack a little Namekian child named Dende, he goes out and attacks him. Afterwards, Dodoria chases Gohan, Krillin and Dende, but they eventually lose him and Vegeta kills Dodoria. Dende leads Gohan and Krillin to Grand Elder Guru, the ruler of the Nameks, where he unlocks both of their hidden potential. Later, Gohan steals a Dragon Ball that Vegeta had hid in a lake for himself, and even tricks Vegeta who runs into him on his way back from retrieving the ball. Vegeta figures this out eventually and becomes enraged, but the arrival of the Ginyu Force makes Vegeta have to form an alliance with Gohan and Krillin in order to get all the Dragon Balls and put up a fight against Frieza's feared Special Forces. Unfortunately, when they gathered all of the Dragon Balls, they were ambushed by the Ginyu Force. The weakest of them, Guldo, was to take on Krillin and Gohan, but failed as Vegeta stepped in and decapitated him with his hand.
Then, when Vegeta was fighting a losing battle against Recoome, Krillin and Gohan stepped in and fought, but it was still not enough. Gohan was on the brink of death until Goku showed up with Senzu Beans. Goku took on the rest of them, but had his body switched by Captain Ginyu. With Goku completely weak in Captain Ginyu's body, Gohan had to try to fight Captain Ginyu in his father's body (although he was initially reluctant to do so, despite knowing it isn't his dad, as he still feels he is injuring his dad by doing so). Captain Ginyu was unable to fully figure out Goku's powers and after a short fight with Gohan, Krillin, and Goku in Ginyu's body, Vegeta kills Jeice and ultimately defeats Ginyu. After Captain Ginyu ended up in a frog's body, Gohan and the others gathered the Namekian Dragon Balls and wished for Piccolo to be brought back to life on Namek.
Shortly after, Frieza ambushed them, making them stall for Piccolo to come. In the Z Fighters' battle against Frieza's second form, Krillin is injured by the tyrant and is sent into the depths of the water below. Gohan rushes to save his friend from drowning, but Frieza stops him. Getting angry, Gohan attacks Frieza with a barrage of punches and kicks followed by the Gekiretsu Madan (a massive wave of energy blasts) that brings the tyrant to his knees.
An enraged Gohan unleashes a relentless attack against Frieza
When Piccolo (now greatly powered up after fusing with the Namekian hero Nail) arrives on the battle field, he fights an even battle against Frieza while Gohan and the others watch in amazement. However, Frieza transforms into his third transformation and gains the upper hand against Piccolo. Seeing this, Gohan becomes enraged and attacks Frieza with the Bakuretsu Ranma (a huge and powerful bolt of energy), hindering Frieza for a few minutes. Eventually, Frieza manages to deflect the attack back at Gohan, who is saved by Piccolo when he destroys the attack with a ki blast. Frieza then transforms into his final form, and as his first act, kills Dende, who had been healing the Z Fighters. Frieza then tries to kill Gohan with a Double Death Beam, but Vegeta saved the young Saiyan by kicking him out of the way of the blast. Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo watch in horror as Vegeta gets brutally beaten by Frieza until Goku arrives. In the end, Vegeta meets his end at the hands of Frieza, who kills him with a Death Beam.
Gohan and the others are left on the sidelines while Goku fights an even battle against Frieza. However, things turn bad when Frieza powers up to 50% of his power and gains the upper hand against Goku, who desperately attempts to use the Spirit Bomb. In order to buy Goku some time, Gohan and Krillin lend their energy to Piccolo so he can stall Frieza enough for Goku to complete his Large Spirit Bomb. It proves successful and Frieza is plummeted into the depths of the Spirit Bomb, heavily injuring him.
Gohan attacks Frieza in anger after he injures Piccolo
Believing the tyrant to be dead, the heroes relax and prepare to go back home to Earth, until Frieza appears on top of a boulder and reveals to be alive. Frieza mortally wounds Piccolo (in the anime, Frieza attempted to fire a Death Beam at Goku, but Piccolo pushed him out of the way and got hit by the laser instead, whereas in manga, Frieza intended to fire the attack at Piccolo), overwhelming Gohan with horror and grief at the presumed death of his mentor and friend. Next, Frieza kills Krillin, by telekinetically blowing him up into pieces, which enrages Goku and allows him to transform into a Super Saiyan. He assertively orders Gohan to take Piccolo and retrieve Bulma and take them to the ship that he traveled in and use it to head back to Earth. Reluctantly obeying his father's wishes, Gohan leaves the battle field with the unconscious Piccolo and manages to retrieve Bulma.
Gohan returns to the battle field to stall Frieza before Planet Namek explodes
Later, when he senses that his father is supposedly dead, Gohan returns back to the fight to stall Frieza before Planet Namek explodes. However, despite his best efforts, he is unable to stall Frieza as the tyrant taunts him and he is not fighting, in addition to Frieza deducing the real reason Gohan is attempting to fight him. However, Gohan then senses that his father is still alive and powers up. Next, Gohan attacks Frieza with a barrage of punches and kicks, knocking him to the ground and finally blasting him with a Super Masenko. Unfortunately, Frieza appears unaffected by the attack and powers up to full power again, saying that Gohan is a true Saiyan and that is why Frieza must kill him. However, before Frieza can kill Gohan, Goku rises up from the ocean below and tells Gohan to get off Planet Namek. Gohan flies away from the fight and encourages his father to win. As Gohan is flying back to the spaceship, he and the others are later transported to Earth by Porunga while Goku is left finishing the battle with Frieza on the dying Planet Namek.
After Goku wins the battle, but is caught in Planet Namek's explosion, Gohan and the others mourn the Saiyan warrior's apparent death. Months later, they are allowed to use the Namekian Dragon Balls to wish Goku back to life. However, they are shocked after the Eternal Dragon Porunga refused the wish that Goku be brought back to life, but everyone rejoiced once the Dragon explained that Goku did not die from Namek's explosion. During this time of peace, everyone awaited the arrival of Goku, and Gohan went back to his studies while Piccolo watched over him and his mother.
While everyone on Earth was waiting for Goku to come back, Garlic Jr. escaped from the Dead Zone, and enslaved most of humanity with the Black Water Mist. Gohan, who was unaffected due to hiding in a cave with his dragon friend Icarus, is forced to travel to the lookout point to save his mother and friends, together with Piccolo, Krillin, and his new girlfriend Maron, who is left at Korin Tower.
Gohan powers up to send Garlic Jr. into the Dead Zone
He had to do battle with Garlic Jr.'s henchmen, the Spice Boys, and after killing them, he had to face his friends: Krillin and Piccolo. Luckily, it turned out that these two were only pretending to be evil so they could free Kami and Mr. Popo. While outmatched at first, after a reunion with his friends, Gohan eventually manages to overcome and send Garlic Jr. back to the Dead Zone by blowing up the Makyo Star that was powering the villain. This would be the first time Gohan had saved the world without his father's help.
A year after Goku defeated Frieza on Planet Namek, Gohan and Chi-Chi still wait for Goku's safe return back to Earth. However, things turn bad when the Z Fighters sense Frieza heading towards Earth, along with another power being: his father, King Cold. Gohan and the Z Fighters regroup where Frieza and King Cold's spaceship is landing, but without Goku's help, the Earth appears to be doomed.
Gohan trains with Goku and Piccolo for the next three years
However, when Frieza and King Cold land on Earth, they are confronted by a mysterious youth, who transforms into a Super Saiyan and easily destroys Frieza and King Cold along with their henchmen. After the fight, he tells the others to follow him to when and where Goku will be arriving. After waiting two hours (three in the manga), Goku arrives on Earth and he and the youth have a private talk.
The mysterious youth reveals himself as Trunks, the son of Bulma and Vegeta from 20 years in the future, who has traveled from the future and explained that a pair of deadly Androids will appear and threaten the Earth in the next three years. Future Trunks then gives Goku an antidote for the heart disease he will soon contract. With the conversation over, Future Trunks departs to his future, but promises to meet them again when the Androids arrive. During the next three years, Gohan trains hard with Goku and Piccolo to prepare for the Android threat.
"Yes! We're going to make it through this without losing anyone!"
— Gohan excited after seeing Piccolo dominate Android 20
Main article: Android Saga Three years later, the Z Fighters locate the Androids on an island nine miles southwest of South City. However, not wanting to fight in the city in fear of causing more damage after Gero had already destroyed half of the city, they fly to a wasteland so they can fight. Goku transforms into his Super Saiyan form and dominates Android 19, until the Saiyan contracts the heart virus Future Trunks warned him about three years prior, allowing Android 19 to gain the upper hand and and steals some of Goku's energy. Goku, however, is saved by the arrival of Vegeta, who transforms into a Super Saiyan himself and easily destroys Android 19 while the Z Fighters watch in amazement.
With Android 19 destroyed, Android 20 (a.k.a. Dr. Gero) becomes scared and retreats, with the Z Fighters in pursuit. During the search, Piccolo is suddenly ambushed by Android 20, who attempts to steal the Namekian's energy and use it against Vegeta. Luckily, Piccolo telepathically contacts Gohan and tells him to come help him. Gohan soon arrives and knocks Dr. Gero down to the ground, saving Piccolo's life as the Z Fighters gather around. Piccolo then fights Android 20 alone and dominates the android with the strength he achieved from the last three years of intense training, cutting off one of Gero's hands. Future Trunks then comes back from the future and arrives on the battle field with the Z Fighters, only to discover that these Androids are not the ones in his future timeline.
However, Android 20 manages to escape and the Z Fighters search for him while Gohan flies Bulma, Baby Trunks, and Yajirobe back home to Capsule Corporation. Dr. Gero makes it back to his lab and activates two of his more powerful Androids, Android 17 and 18. However, the Androids rebel and kill Dr. Gero and proceeded to activate another android, Android 16, whose sole purpose is to kill Goku. The Z Fighters battle the new Androids, only to be badly beaten as the Androids fly away to find and kill Goku.
When the Z Fighters are in an airplane with a weakened Goku, flying away from the Androids, Gohan and Future Trunks leave and meet with Bulma to investigate an old time machine that was used to travel to the past. The time machine is covered in moss and has a large hole at the top. In there, they find a large egg shell split in half, but can't get any conclusions from it. Then, Gohan finds some thing unusual in the distance: the skin of a huge bug (later known as the android, Cell). Bulma takes the shell with her to do some more investigating.
Gohan tries to help Piccolo back on Earth, but is forced by Goku to stay on the Lookout
After Goku is cured from the heart virus, he takes Gohan, Future Trunks, and Vegeta up at Kami's Lookout, where they are shown by Mr. Popo a special room up at Kami's Lookout, known as the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, in preparation for a new threat: Cell. In the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Future Trunks and Vegeta both enter the room first for the whole day while Goku and Gohan wait and sense that Piccolo (now fused with Kami and returned to the being nameless Namek) is fighting against the Androids. Gohan tries to go down to Earth and help Piccolo, but Goku doesn't let him go and explains he is not strong enough and will only get in Piccolo's way. Goku tells Gohan as soon as they get their training done, they will go down to Earth and help Piccolo.
Later when Piccolo was nearly killed by a powered-upImperfect Cell, who arrived on the battle field between Piccolo and Android 17, Goku and Gohan sense Piccolo's energy disappear. Believing his mentor to be dead, an enraged Gohan tries to go down to Earth, but is held and calmed down by Goku. Still angered, Gohan flies up into the air and tries to escape from the Lookout, but is punched down to the ground by Goku. As Mr. Popo rushes to help him, he explains to Gohan that Goku is hurting inside too and is even more angry than Gohan about Piccolo’s near death. Gohan and Goku apologize to each other for their actions, and Goku promises that he won’t let Piccolo’s sacrifice be in vain.
After Cell absorbs Android 17 and achieved his Semi-Perfect form, he is about to set his sights on Android 18 when Tien Shinhan arrives and attacks Cell with his Neo Tri-Beam, allowing Android 18 and 16 (who was injured by Semi-Perfect Cell) to escape. Goku and Gohan sense Tien's energy decreasing and he finally collapses from exhaustion. Just before Semi-Perfect Cell can kill Tien, Goku uses Instant Transmission to appear on the battle field. He grabs the barely alive Tien and Piccolo and teleports back to the Lookout, where they are fully healed with a Senzu Bean. Piccolo explains that despite their best efforts against Semi-Perfect Cell, they proved useless.
Gohan transforms into a Super Saiyan for the first time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber
At that moment, Mr. Popo interrupts and brings the group to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, where Future Trunks and Vegeta emerge stronger than ever. They are given new Saiyan armor by Bulma (who by this time already arrived) and fly down to the Earth to confront Semi-Perfect Cell. While Vegeta and Future Trunks fight Semi-Perfect Cell, Goku and Gohan enter and train in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber while wearing some new Saiyan armor made by Bulma. In the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Gohan struggles to transform into a Super Saiyan. Goku informs him that to become a Super Saiyan, it must come in response to a need, not a desire. Gohan realizes the only way to become a Super Saiyan is for his father to fight him at full power. Hesitantly, Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan and fires a powerful Kamehameha at Gohan. Gohan blocks the attack and thinks about all the other times he was not able to help his friends whenever they were in danger while his friends helped him out if he was in danger. Thinking about this, Gohan overwhelms with rage, allowing him transform into a Super Saiyan and fire the Kamehameha back at Goku, who dodges the attack and tells his son to focus his energy, making him return to his base form. Goku tells Gohan they can take a break and even gives his son a haircut.
Gohan training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber as a Super Saiyan
Later, Gohan again transforms into his Super Saiyan form and trains while Goku sits down and watches his son's training in his Super Saiyan form improve. Gohan gets tired and transforms back into his base form when Goku demonstrates the Ascended and Ultra Super Saiyan forms (which are the forms that Vegeta and Future Trunks are using against Cell, who by this time had achieved his perfect form by absorbing Android 18).
Gohan and Goku train in their Super Saiyan forms to attain the Full-Power Super Saiyan state
Seeing this incredible strength and power, Gohan is sure Goku can beat Cell, but Goku says he can't. He explains that because his muscles are now bulky, they slow down his speed, which is obviously important in the fight with Cell. Goku tells Gohan that transforming into a Super Saiyan takes a great deal of energy, but they need all the Super Saiyan energy they can get. Goku comes up with a plan to transform into a Full-Power Super Saiyan, so he tells Gohan to try and stay transformed as a Super Saiyan for the whole day when it starts to feel normal.
At some point during their training, Goku prepared to call it a day, but then Gohan then manages to surprise Goku by transforming into an unprecedented Super Saiyan form before collapsing from exhaustion. Although Gohan doesn't remember it due to the strain of this initial transformation, it ended up being the cataclyst that caused Goku to realize that, should Cell achieve his perfect form, Gohan is the only one of the Z-Fighters, including Goku himself, who would stand any chance at defeating Cell in even that state.
"What are you so afraid of, Cell? Isn't this what you wanted? I warned you. I told you what would happen if you pushed me too far. But you didn't listen. You forced me to awaken my hidden power, and now that you've seen it, you're afraid... because you know that I'm going to destroy you."
— Gohan during his battle with Cell
With their training finally completed, Gohan and Goku emerge from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber as Full-Power Super Saiyans. As Goku and Gohan are eating food made by Mr. Popo (because they don't really know how to cook when they were in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber), Future Trunks, after being defeated by Perfect Cell along with his father Vegeta, tells them that Perfect Cell is hosting a tournament for the Earth's strongest warriors called the Cell Games, to which Goku thinks of it as an interesting challenge. While Goku wears his trademark orange and blue clothes for the tournament, Gohan asks Piccolo for a copy of his uniform, since he was his first mentor. Piccolo conjures up a uniform similar to his for Gohan, who happily appreciates the new outfit.
Goku pays Perfect Cell a visit using Instant Transmission, and after returning, he claims he is no match for the android. Piccolo suggests they can still go in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for extra training. However, Goku declines and says that he and Gohan can train outside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, greatly surprising everyone. Goku and Gohan leave the Lookout, (after Goku and Gohan show Korin and Yajirobe their new power) and arrive at the Kame House to pick up Chi-Chi so they can go home. Gohan asks his father if they have a chance of beating Cell if they spend the next nine days resting and training outside. Goku laughs and says they don't have to worry about it now, since they have nine days to relax. Gohan and Goku go inside and meet everyone else (at one point, Oolong and Puar even say that Gohan has, "buffed up.") However, when Chi-Chi sees Goku and Gohan, she freaks out and exclaims that Gohan has become a hair-dyeing punk.
In a filler episode, Gohan flies to a village called Chazke Village to run a shopping errand for his mother. He meets Lime and Mr. Lao there, and later encounters one of his father's deadliest enemies in his childhood: Mercenary Tao, rebuilt as a cyborg. Taken over by panic and shock at discovering Gohan is Goku’s son, Mercenary Tao flies away on a tree. Goku arrives and he and Gohan are given the groceries by Mr. Lao, who encourages them that they can defeat Cell. Gohan and Goku say their goodbyes to Mr. Lao and Lime and fly back home.
In another filler, Gohan has his 11th birthday and all of his other memories are revealed. One of his memories include Goku, Chi-Chi, and the Ox-King discussing a name for their newborn son. However, when they mention Grandpa Gohan, Goku’s deceased adoptive grandfather, they discover the baby laughs at the name, “Gohan.” Seeing as the baby likes the name, “Gohan”, Goku, Chi-Chi, and Ox-King name the baby, “Gohan.” In another flashback Goku, Chi-Chi, and Gohan are walking in the woods when they look up in a tree at a bird family. However, Goku accidentally lets go of Gohan’s stroller, causing Gohan to zoom violently down the hill while Goku and Chi-Chi run for their lives after their crying son. The stroller jumps over a ravine and heads for a tree where it crashes and breaks. The crying Gohan is about to smash into the tree, but he stops crying and uses his hidden power to smash through the tree without injury. Goku catches Gohan on the other side of the tree and he laughs, ending the flashback.
Gohan, Goku, and Krillin return home, where they, along with Chi-Chi and Ox-King, celebrate Gohan’s 11th birthday. Before he blows out the candles, Gohan makes a wish in his mind. He wishes he would have enough strength to defeat Cell so his family would live in peace. However, when Gohan blows out the candles, he accidentally ends up blowing the cake everywhere on everybody’s face. Chi-Chi says a boy would get severely punished for trashing his birthday cake. However, Chi-Chi’s mood changes to happy and she says he can’t help it because he is Goku’s son, to which everyone joyfully laughs.
Finally, ten days have passed and the Z Fighters arrive at the Cell Games for the battle against Perfect Cell. Goku is the first Z Fighter to battle against Perfect Cell and matches the monster blow for blow. To everyone's surprise, Goku forfeits the battle against Perfect Cell after using the Instant Kamehameha (a combination of the Instant Transmission and Kamehameha) which left him and Cell drained. Goku then chooses Gohan to fight Perfect Cell in his place. Gohan states Goku and Cell's battle wasn't hard to keep up with, leading to the conclusion that Gohan was possibly stronger than Goku, who was fighting at full power.
Gohan powers up to the point where his power exceeds even Goku's and reluctantly fights Perfect Cell. As the battle occurs, Gohan does not have the same fighting spirit as his father, allowing Perfect Cell to gain the upper hand. Gohan tells Cell that once he becomes enraged, his hidden power is unleashed, referring to when he attacked Raditz, when he was in training with Piccolo, and when he was fighting Frieza. Gohan did not wish to see this power unleashed, much to Perfect Cell's chagrin. Believing he could see this hidden power, Perfect Cell began smacking Gohan around to get him angry. Gohan finally gets a little angry and kicks Perfect Cell in the face, giving him a bloody lip and fueling his desire to see Gohan’s hidden power. When things start to get dangerous, Android 16 sneaks up behind Perfect Cell and gives him a bear hug, attempting to self-destruct and take the monster with him. However, Krillin reveals to Android 16 that Bulma and her father removed the self-destruct bomb, allowing Perfect Cell to break free and blast Android 16 to bits, much to the horror of the Z Fighters. However, the android’s head is left still intact and rolls over to Mr. Satan and his gang, who were hiding and watching the fight.
Gohan transforms into a Super Saiyan 2 after witnessing Android 16's tragic death
Perfect Cell then creates seven Cell Juniors and has them attack the Z Fighters. Gohan watches in horror and becomes angry as his friends are mercilessly beaten by the Cell Jrs. Meanwhile, the head of Android 16 convinces Hercule to throw his head to where Gohan and Perfect Cell are so that he may help Gohan. Now in Gohan’s sight, Android 16 tells Gohan to not be afraid of releasing his anger and that it was okay to fight if he wants to protect the people and world he loved. Finally, 16 said to Gohan to drop his restraints and let it go because he has enough power and strength to defeat Perfect Cell. With Android 16’s final words, Perfect Cell crushes Android 16’s head, ending the peaceful android’s life. Touched by Android 16’s final words and enraged by the peaceful android’s death, Gohan’s rage reaches its limits and transforms him into a new level, Super Saiyan 2.
Now in his new anger-fueled state, Gohan says to Perfect Cell stating that he will never forget what he has done. He approaches the android and quickly snatches the Senzu Beans that Perfect Cell stole from Krillin. Gohan teleports away in front of a Cell Jr., who attempts to strike Gohan, only to be easily killed by the enraged young Saiyan. Gohan quickly teleports to where Krillin is held captive by two of the Cell Jrs., something that Future Trunks realizes about Gohan increasing his strength and power without losing speed. Gohan rescues Krillin and kills another of the Cell Jrs. Seeing this new incredible power that Goku spoke of earlier, Perfect Cell orders all of the Cell Jrs. to take on Gohan all at once; however, Gohan easily kills all of Cell Jrs. without mercy, much to the amazement and shock of everyone, including Perfect Cell. After Gohan gives the Senzu Beans to Future Trunks to heal the Z Fighters, he proceeds to challenge Perfect Cell.
As the Z Fighters are healed by the Senzu Beans and get to a safe distance, Gohan battles Perfect Cell and gains the upper hand against the android. Perfect Cell unleashes his maximum power and punches Gohan hard in the face. However, Gohan is barely phased by Perfect Cell’s blow and counterattacks with two powerful punches to the Perfect Cell’s stomach and face, severely injuring the Android. Perfect Cell fires attacks used by some of the Z Fighters, including the Destructo Disk, Special Beam Cannon, and Scatter Shot at Gohan, who easily brushes through the attacks. Gohan tells Perfect Cell that he should not have pushed him and because of that, he is going to destroy him.
Gohan lands a powerful kick to Perfect Cell's stomach, making him regurgitate Android 18
Perfect Cell flies up high into the air and fires a massive Kamehameha down at Gohan in an attempt to destroy the entire Earth. However, just as the huge energy beam is about to hit the Earth, Gohan counterattacks with a bigger and more powerful Kamehameha, overpowering Perfect Cell’s Kamehameha and destroying the android's legs, left arm, and the two straight sections on top of his head. Goku yells for Gohan to finish off Cell before he regenerates, but Gohan, still enraged at Perfect Cell’s actions, refuses and wants Cell to suffer before he kills him. As Goku predicted, the enraged Cell regenerates and transforms into his Power Weighted form but even with his enormous power, he is unable to hit Gohan, making the same mistake Future Trunks made ten days ago. After Gohan dodges Cell's punches, he delivered two powerful kicks to Perfect Cell’s face and stomach, making him regurgitate Android 18 and transform back into his Semi-Perfect form.
In a fit of anger and desperation, Semi-Perfect Cell began a Self Destruction technique, planning to blow himself up along with the Earth. Gohan attempts to attack the self-destructing Semi-Perfect Cell, but the android replies that if he is hit, he will immediately explode. Hearing this, Gohan realizes that there is no way that he can save the Earth and blames himself for not finishing Cell off sooner. However, at the last second, Goku uses instant-transmission to transport in front of Semi-Perfect Cell. Goku tells Gohan how proud he is of his son for putting up a good fight and to look after Chi-Chi. After a heart-felt goodbye to his son, Goku transports Cell away from Earth to King Kai's Planet where Semi-Perfect Cell finally explodes, destroying the planet and killing Goku, King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory in the process. Back on Earth, Gohan and the other Z Fighters mourn Goku's noble sacrifice. Realizing how cocky and arrogant he was, Gohan cries and blames himself for his father's death while Krillin tries to comfort him.
Gohan's arm is badly broken after defending Vegeta from Super Perfect Cell's attack
However, unknown to the Z Fighters, Cell survives the explosion, regenerating from a lone cell in his core. Doing this effectively raised his power higher due to the Saiyan genes he absorbed from Goku and Vegeta, and he also learned Goku's Instant Transmission technique, which he used to head back to Earth. As his first act of return, Super Perfect Cell kills Future Trunks with one blast in front of the shocked Z Fighters. Gohan was in fact pleased to see Super Perfect Cell had returned, hoping to defeat the android so he could avenge his father. Enraged by his son’s death, Vegeta in a fit of fury and rage, transformed into to a Super Saiyan and attacked Super Perfect Cell with a powerful barrage of energy blasts. However, as the dust clears, Super Perfect Cell, emerges from the blast, unharmed, and smacks Vegeta aside to the ground and fires a powerful blast at the Saiyan prince. Gohan jumps in front of the unconscious Vegeta and takes the full-force of Super Perfect Cell’s attack, costing him the use of his left arm and most of his power drained.
Gohan and Goku fire the Father-Son Kamehameha against Super Perfect Cell
Wanting to end the conflict, Super Perfect Cell prepares a massive Kamehameha to destroy Gohan, who loses all hope after having his left arm broken and seeing how much powerful Super Perfect Cell is now. However, at that moment, Goku telepathically contacted Gohan with the help of King Kai encouraged Gohan to believe in his power. When Gohan tells Goku it was all his fault that this happened, Goku reminds him that not only do things like this happen, but if anyone's to blame for it, it's Super Perfect Cell. With new found hope and confidence, Gohan prepares a one-handed Kamehameha with the assistance from Goku's spirit. With their attacks finally charged and ready, Gohan and Super Perfect Cell fire their Kamehameha attacks at each other, resulting in a huge energy beam struggle that knocks away everyone else.
Gohan destroys Super Perfect Cell once and for all
During the Kamehameha duel between Gohan and Super Perfect Cell, Super Perfect Cell has the upper hand against Gohan. However, Gohan, still aided by his father in Other World, is able to charge more of his power into his Kamehameha, seemingly bringing the energy duel to a standstill. The Z Fighters, except for Vegeta, also help out Gohan by blasting Super Perfect Cell, who retaliates by knocking all of them away with his energy, rendering them unable to help Gohan. However, just as Super Perfect Cell is about to destroy Gohan, Vegeta, after regaining his confidence, aims at Super Perfect Cell's head with a small Big Bang Attack, distracting the android. Seeing this opportunity, Gohan (encouraged by Goku) unleashes all the rest of his power into his Kamehameha, completely destroying every cell in Super Perfect Cell's body, dispatching the android once and for all. Having successfully won, Gohan reverts to his normal state and collapses to the ground, breathing heavily and smiling as Goku in Other World expresses how proud he is of his son for finally defeating Super Perfect Cell and saving the world.
Gohan says his goodbye to his deceased father in Other World
Following Super Perfect Cell’s defeat, the Z Fighters and Gohan return to Dende’s Lookout, where he is healed by Dende. With the newly recreated Dragon Balls, they summon Shenron and wish for all of Cell’s victims to be revived. However, Goku does not come back and telepathically contacts the Z Fighters on the Lookout. Goku tells them not to revive him and explains that he seemed to attract evil villains that were after him, so the Earth would be safer if he weren’t there. He also said that Gohan had greatly surpassed him and if there were any other threats, Gohan would be there to defend the Earth. With the conversation over, Gohan and the Z Fighters say their goodbyes to Goku and to each other before leaving the Lookout and going their separate ways, leaving the Earth safe once more.
Seven years after the events of the Cell Games, Gohan lives at home with his mother and his seven year old brother named Goten, born just after the Cell Games. His training has taken a backseat to his studies and his strength has decreased overtime, although he can still compete with Goku and Vegeta, who have trained hard in those years. Chi-Chi decides Gohan needs to attend high school to finish his education. On his first day in Satan City, he turns Super Saiyan (in order to conceal his identity) to stop a robbery, and by the time he arrives at Orange Star High tales of the newest hero, "Gold Fighter", have already spread (which name was actually given to him after two previous incidents while going to the school to take entrance exams). In class, he meets another crime-fighter and the most popular girl in school, Videl. She is the daughter of Mr. Satan, who got rich and famous for stealing Gohan's credit over the defeat of Cell.
Videl is highly suspicious of Gohan and spies on him to see if he is really the Gold Fighter. Videl confronts Gohan several times to voice her suspicions, but Gohan nervously denies them. Gohan decides to use a disguise when fighting crime and goes to Bulma to make him a costume. He becomes the Great Saiyaman to hide his identity so that the media will not bother his family. However, while trying to convince Videl to let him return a stolen pterodactyl baby to its two pterodactyl parents, he accidentally reveals his identity to Videl, who then blackmails Gohan to compete against her in the newly revived World Martial Arts Tournament in exchange for her silence. Gohan, having no experience with kids his own age, especially girls, is helpless against the confident Videl, who makes him promise to teach her how to fly.
When Gohan tells Bulma about the tournament, Goku, listening in from the Other World, contacts them and tells them he'll compete too, using his one-day pass to the human world. Hearing this, Vegeta also decides to compete. To make it more interesting, and to give them a chance to meet Goku again, Gohan tells all his friends about the tournament, and they all decide to compete. While Gohan trains with Goten, he is shocked to see Goten transform into a Super Saiyan, breaking his record as the youngest Super Saiyan ever, worrying that if he doesn't train harder, Goten will surpass him.
When Videl shows up at Gohan's home to learn to fly, Gohan learns that she has no knowledge of energy, since her father believes it to be just a trick. Gohan begins training her from scratch, though she picks it up pretty quickly. During his training of Videl as well as his brother Goten, Videl learns more about Gohan and grows closer to him. Also when teaching Videl becomes a great flyer, Gohan had thought that Videl was really something special. Despite the relentless teasing from friends (such as Krillin), Videl and Gohan develop a sweet kind of relationship.
"Last chance for requests! Do you just want to see just a Super Saiyan? Or should I take it up to the next level!?"
— Gohan confronting Kibito at the World Martial Arts Tournament
As the Z Fighters arrive at the World Tournament, Goku, who had been in Other World training for the last seven years, arrives on Earth and after an emotional greeting by Gohan, meets his second son, Goten. As the tournament occurs, the Z Fighters easily brush through their matches. Later, however, when Videl fights Spopovich, she is nearly beaten to death by the large brute. Gohan watches in anger as his friend horribly suffers at the hands of the ruthless Spopovich. Finally, having seen enough, Gohan turns Super Saiyan and tries to save Videl from Spopovich, but before he can, Yamu interrupts and tells for Spopovich to finish the match because they have much more important things in the matter. Spopovich kicks Videl out of the ring and leaves with Yamu, but not before being told by the angry Gohan that he will win the next time they fight.
Gohan transforms into a Super Saiyan 2 against Kibito
After rushing Videl to the hospital and giving her a Senzu Bean to heal, Gohan returned to the tournament and found himself set up to fight Kibito. In order for the Supreme Kai and Kibito to find Babidi's Spaceship, they are forced into tricking Gohan into turning into a Super Saiyan. However, Gohan states that there is a level beyond a Super Saiyan and transforms into his Super Saiyan 2 form, shocking the audience into thinking that he was the mysterious Gold Fighter. At that moment, Yamu and Spopovich jump into the ring and Supreme Kai paralyzes Gohan when he is about to attack. Yamu and Spopovich steal Gohan’s energy, reverting him back to his normal state, and fly off, with Supreme Kai and the other Z Fighters in pursuit. Kibito heals Gohan, restoring his energy and explains they are going after Spopovich and Yamu to find Babidi's spaceship. Gohan and Kibito, along with Videl, fly away to meet up with the Z Fighters.
"Come on, Dabura! Show your true power, you can't win at this rate!"
— Gohan during his battle against Dabura
Main article: Babidi SagaAfter flying for a time, Videl gets tired and decides to head back to the World Tournament, seeing as the opponent they are going to face is too powerful for her. However, before leaving, she and Gohan have a conversation about the identity of the Gold Fighter, who is actually Gohan. Figuring this out, Videl comes to the conclusion that seven years ago during the Cell Games, Gohan was the golden-haired boy who had defeated Super Perfect Cell, not Hercule. Gohan and Videl say goodbye to each other and Videl promises that she is not through with him yet, indicating that she has fallen for him.
Gohan and Kibito later catch up with the Supreme Kai and the Z Fighters at Babidi’s spaceship. They hide and secretly watch as Yamu and Spopovich give the energy to the evil wizard Babidi, who retaliates by killing them. Dabura and Babidi realize the Z Fighters are nearby and decide to steal their energy by killing the weaker fighters and luring them into the spaceship. Dabura flies up to the Z Fighters and kills Kibito with a Ki Blast at point blank range. After a brief fight, Dabura spits on Krillin and Piccolo, turning them to stone, and flies back to the spaceship, with Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, and a relutctant Supreme Kai following behind.
Gohan battles against Dabura in his Super Saiyan 2 form
When they get inside the spaceship, they are told they must defeat the three fighters if they want to destroy Babidi. The first fighter, Pui Pui, appears and fights against Vegeta, only to be easily killed when the Saiyan prince fires a powerful energy blast on Pui Pui’s chest. Goku is the next to fight against Yakon, the second fighter, who has the ability to absorb energy. However, Goku manages to kill him by making him absorb too much of his energy, causing Yakon to explode. With the two fighters defeated, Gohan fights against the last and strongest of Babidi’s fighters, Dabura in a mountain area. At first, Gohan is fighting a little rusty against Dabura due to not training during the seven years after the Cell Games, but after transforming into his Super Saiyan 2 form, Gohan manages to fight evenly with the Demon King. However, it is revealed by Goku and Vegeta that Gohan had a lot more power when he faced Cell seven years earlier. Vegeta becomes disgraced with Gohan's lack of motivation and expresses his frustration, believing Gohan to have peaked in power. Dabura notices Vegeta's inside evilness and stops the fight with Gohan to report his findings to Babidi.
Soon after the fight, Vegeta’s mind is taken over Babidi’s magic, transforming him into Majin Vegeta and giving him a massive power increase. Babidi transports them to the World Tournament arena, where Majin Vegeta destroys parts of the stadium, killing many people to convince Goku to fight him. Goku agrees and they are transported to a desert area. Before leaving with Supreme Kai to stop Babidi, Gohan is given a Senzu Bean by Goku, who tells him to remember about the people he is fighting for and how much he cares about them and let that be his weapon. Gohan says goodbye to Goku as he and Supreme Kai head down Babidi’s spaceship to confront the evil wizard, while Goku and Majin Vegeta fight their intense battle.
"But there’s people I care about! And this time around, I’m not gonna just stand by and let them all get hurt!"
— Gohan rejecting Supreme Kai’s order and preparing to attack Majin Buu’s cacoon
After easily defeating many weak henchmen, Gohan and Supreme Kai make it to the bottom of the ship where Majin Buu's Cocoon is. Babidi and Dabura appear and prepare to release Majin Buu from his cocoon. Supreme Kai orders Gohan to retreat and wait for the others to think of a way to defeat Majin Buu, but Gohan, remembering his father’s words, refuses and says he needs to protect the people he cares about. Gohan powers up and fires a Flashing Kamehameha one after another attempting to destroy the cocoon and Majin Buu along with it, but the cocoon is unaffected. The cocoon finally stops steaming and hatches, but nothing is inside. However, only Gohan knows that something did come out of the cocoon, and it was forming something up into the sky. The steam that erupted from the cocoon forms into a pink, fat creature: Majin Buu.
Gohan trains with the Z Sword on the Supreme Kai Planet
Despite his best efforts to protect Supreme Kai from Majin Buu, Gohan is left nearly killed after Majin Buu fires a devastating attack that blasts him up into the sky. The weakened Supreme Kai uses his psychic powers to destroy the attack and Gohan ends up falling down into a nearby forest, unconscious and severely beaten. Fortunately, when Kibito is brought back to life by the Dragon Balls he locates and heals the Supreme Kai. They eventually find Gohan in the forest and bring him to the Supreme Kai Planet to be healed. After being revived, Gohan is then told he was brought to the Kai Planet to pull out the legendary Z Sword to defeat Majin Buu. At first, Gohan has trouble pulling the Z Sword out, but after transforming into a Super Saiyan, he manages to pull it out.
During his training with the Z Sword, Gohan reunites with his father Goku, who has returned from Earth where he transformed into Super Saiyan 3 to fight Majin Buu. Goku is surprised to see that his son is still alive and discovers Supreme Kai was behind this. Seeing Gohan’s excellent progress with the Z Sword, Goku decides to test its strength by throwing a huge boulder, which Gohan easily slices in half. Supreme Kai summons Katchin, the densest metal in the universe, to test if Gohan can slice through it. However, when Goku throws the Katchin at Gohan, the Z Sword snaps in two and from the broken sword emerges Old Kai, who tells them that he will fully unlock Gohan's latent potential in a ritual.
As Goku, Supreme Kai, and Kibito observe what is happening down on Earth, Gohan grows increasingly impatient as Old Kai reads and laughs at comics instead of unlocking his power. Gohan soon loses his patience and angrily powers up, displaying an amazing power that illuminates the Supreme Kai planet. However, amazed at realizing that some of his power really was unlocked, Gohan apologizes to Old Kai, and resumes the ritual. After some time, the ritual is finally completed and Gohan is told to transform into a Super Saiyan; however, when he does, his appearance does not change, but his power and strength gain an incredible increase. Gohan says goodbye to Supreme Kai, Old Kai, and his father Goku and is transported back to Earth by Kibito. Before Kibito transports back to the Supreme Kai planet, Gohan asks for the clothes reminiscent of his father’s, to which Kibito happily complies. Kibito wishes Gohan good luck and transports back to the Supreme Kai planet. With his power finally released and the fate of the world now in his hands, Gohan flies off to confront the new Majin Buu: Super Buu.
Gohan dominates Super Buu after having his hidden power released by Old Kai
Gohan arrives on the battlefield where he finds Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo, who reveal that all of their friends and family were killed and eaten by Super Buu. Gohan is angry about this at first, but thinks he can still sense Dende’s energy. Gohan powers up and completely outclasses Super Buu, much to the shock of Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo. No matter how much he tries, Super Buu is unable to land any damage on Gohan, who easily dodges and blocks all of the monster’s strongest attacks. In an act of desperation, Super Buu attempts to self destruct and take Gohan with him, but Gohan sees through this and grabs and flies away with Piccolo, Goten, and Trunks before they are all caught in the explosion.
Gohan battles Super Buu after he absorbs Gotenks and Piccolo
After getting to a safe distance, Gohan explains to Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo how he had become very powerful through Old Kai’s magic ritiual. Gohan and the others sense Dende’s faint energy and decide to fly after him before Super Buu does. Along the way, they meet up and rescue an exhausted Mr. Satan and his adopted dog, Bee, who were strolling around in the desert. They finally locate Dende, who explains to them that he was thrown off of the Lookout by Mr. Popo before he could be hit by Super Buu’s Chocolate Beam. After the hour is up, Super Buu arrives and challenges Goten and Trunks to fight him again for a rematch, which the boys agree on and fuse into Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks. At that moment, however, Super Buu absorbs Gotenks and Piccolo, resulting in a massive increase of mental and physical strength.
As the battle begins, Gohan manages to fight evenly with the new Super Buu. However, after Super Buu uses Picccolo’s mind to play mind tricks on Gohan, the tables are turned, and Super Buu gains the upper hand against Gohan, whose injuries are soon healed by Dende. Tien Shinhan also joins the fight to help Gohan, saving him from a blast, but Super Buu easily defeats him by one kick and prepares an attack capable of destroying the entire Earth. At the last second, however, Goku (after receiving Potara Earrings from Old Kai) appears and slices Super Buu in half. Goku throws one earring to Gohan, but he misses and Goku is forced to transform into his Super Saiyan 3 form to stall Super Buu, while Gohan searches for the earring. He manages to find the earring, but since Gotenks defused inside of Super Buu, which caused his power to decrease, Goku says there is no need for Potara Fusion, seeing as they can easily beat Super Buu now. However, Super Buu manages to absorb Gohan while he is caught off-guard, giving him a massive power increase.
Later, Goku and Vegeta (who had fused into Vegito to dominate Super Buu) enter Super Buu’s body and escape with Gohan, Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo. However, this causes Super Buu to undergo a final transformation into his original form – Kid Buu. Gohan is killed when Kid Buu destroys the Earth, but he is soon revived along with the Earth and everyone else by Porunga. When they learn from Vegeta that Goku needs energy for his Super Spirit Bomb, they contribute part of their energy to the Spirit Bomb, but the citizens of Earth do not. However, after Hercule convinces the people to donate their energy, the Super Spirit Bomb is completed, and Goku obliterates Kid Buu once and for all.
Ten years later, Gohan has finally become a scholar, marries Videl and has a daughter named Pan. At the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku participates and fights Uub, the reincarnation of Kid Buu. After an equal battle, Goku takes in Uub as his student to train him and better control his power. Goku bids farewell to Gohan and the others before Goku and Uub fly away to Uub’s village, ending the Dragon Ball Z series.
"You know you can't win! You can't destroy what I really am! Even if you manage to kill this body, someone even stronger would surface and take my place! Not one death will go unaccounted for, not one!"
— Future Gohan preparing to fight Android 17 and 18
Main articles: The History of Trunks and Future Gohan Future Gohan, Gohan's alternate timeline counterpart, in the History of Trunks special
In Future Trunks' original timeline, Goku has died from his viral heart disease. Android 17 and Android 18 have been awakened by Dr. Gero, and have turned Earth into their playground. Piccolo, Vegeta, Tien, Krillin, Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Yajirobe team up to fight the Androids but they are no match for their powers. First to be killed is Piccolo, dropped by a powerful kick to the gut from Android 18. Vegeta is the next warrior to be killed, incinerated by a powerful blast of energy delivered by Android 17. Android 17 follows by destroying Krillin, Yamcha, and Yajirobe with energy blasts through the chest while Android 18 wipes out Tien and Chiaotzu the same way. Gohan some how manages to escape from the deadly battle and becomes a Super Saiyan after the death of his fallen friends. Future Gohan has grown up after thirteen years, and continues to fight the androids to the best of his ability. It seems that Future Gohan is equal if not stronger then Android 17 but he is unable to ever defeat the Androids together (and because the Androids never run out of energy) so he's forced to retreat from most of the battles. Future Trunks, wanting to help, asks Future Gohan to train him so he too can join in the fight against the androids. Future Gohan takes Future Trunks under his tutelage, hoping that as a Saiyan and the son of Vegeta, he will one day also be able to become a Super Saiyan and a powerful ally in finally defeating the androids. Future Gohan as a Super Saiyan, ready to fight Android 17 and 18
Gohan and Trunks battle the androids until Trunks' inexperience leads to him being at the mercy of Android 18. In an effort to save Trunks, Gohan manages to buy enough time for the two of them to hide, only to have the androids bomb the entire area, severing Gohan's arm and severely injuring both him and Trunks. Luckily, Gohan gives Trunks the last remaining Senzu Bean (senzu plant dies in this future) which saves Trunks' life. Trunks brings Gohan back to his house were he heals. Gohan continues to train with Trunks, desperately trying as best he can to help the young warrior to ascend into Super Saiyan.
As the Androids attack another city near by, Gohan prepares to fight the androids, telling Trunks to stay behind. Trunks is shown desperately wanting to help and Gohan knows that there is no way to talk Trunks out of it. He misleads Trunks into thinking he will accept the help, then quickly knocks him out. In his mind, Gohan knew he was going to die but knew his death would help the future and sets off to fight the Androids. Gohan goes to fight the Androids as he tells them that someone stronger will take his place (Trunks). Gohan takes on the Androids fighting with one arm he manages to hold his own but, the Androids gang up on him in the rain and kill him with multiple ki-blasts. After Trunks awakens, he finds Gohan's lifeless body destroyed by the Androids. Seeing his closest friend and mentor lying lifeless on the ground, Trunks feels the unfairness and anger of his friend's death which allows Trunks to become a Super Saiyan. Knowing that his death would save the future, Gohan died a hero.
After Dragon Ball Z, Gohan now works for Bulma's company as a researcher and, like Trunks, he rarely trains. He now is more concerned about being a good husband and father. He is one of the first to learn about Goku's transformation back into a child thanks to a wish made to the Black Star Dragon Balls by Emperor Pilaf. They all soon learn that if the Black Star Dragon Balls aren't collected and brought back to Earth within a year's time, the planet will explode.
Gohan, along with the help of Bulma and Videl, works on the spaceship used for Goku, Trunks, and Goten (later replaced by his daughter Pan) to go hunt the Black Star Dragon Balls. Even though he had apparently stopped with his training, he was still far stronger than most of his allies, including Trunks and Goten; he was arguably the closest to Goku and Vegeta's league in strength.
Gohan is later seen again visiting his mother and brother at Capsule Corp. with Videl. They tell Chi-Chi that Goten got into a fight somewhere (with Baby) over at Satan City. Goten returns shortly after, now under the control of Baby. Baby immediately realizes that Gohan is stronger than Goten and could be a little more sufficient body to help him infect Vegeta. Gohan also realizes something is not right with his brother. They two get into a little fight and decide to settle at a remote location. Baby Goten immediately plays the offensive against Gohan, trying to force him to power up (making it easier for him to takeover Gohan's body). Gohan refuses to do so, realizing that if he uses enough energy, he could hurt Goten. Baby Goten then powers up to full strength, cornering Gohan. Having no other choice, Gohan powers up to a Super Saiyan. Baby uses this opportunity and easily takes over Gohan's body. Baby tests Gohan's powers by attacking Piccolo in the area. Baby Gohan attacks Vegeta
Now with Gohan under his control, Baby seeks out his true target: Vegeta. Baby Gohan locates Vegeta and fights an even battle with the Saiyan prince. The fight is soon interrupted by the arrival of Goten, who Baby left an egg implanted inside of, rendering him under his control. With the help of Goten, one of Baby Gohan's attacks pierces Vegeta's skin, which Baby takes the opportunity to liqueify himself and enter Vegeta's body, gaining control of a more powerful host. However, just like Goten, Gohan has an egg implanted inside of him by Baby, bringing him under control of the Tuffle parasite. Later, when Goku, Pan, and Trunks return home from outer space after collecting the Black Star Dragon Balls (which Dende later gave to Baby so he could wish for Planet Plant to be restored), Gohan and Goten appear at their house and transform into Super Saiyans to immediately fight Goku and Pan. Gohan even promises to kill Pan and fires an energy blast at her. However, Goku blocks the attack and the explosion knocks him and Pan down to the ground, rendering Pan unconsious. This angers Goku and he fights at full power, allowing him to gain the upper hand against the controlled Gohan and Goten. However, before Goku fires his Kamehameha at Gohan and Goten, Hercule and Majin Buu show up and explain what has happened. Gohan, Goten, Pan, and Trunks help restore Super Saiyan 4 Goku's energy
After being purified by the Sacred Water by Kibito Kai, Gohan, along with Goten, Trunks, and Pan help restore Goku's Super Saiyan 4 powers. Eventually, Goku manages to defeat Great Ape Baby, forcing the Tuffle parasite to flee from Vegeta's body, returning him back to normal. Baby then tries to escape in a spaceship, but Goku fires a powerful 10x Kamehameha up at the spaceship, blasting it to the sun while Baby was inside and killing the Tuffle for good. Piccolo's final farewell to Gohan before he dies
Later, Gohan helps in evacuating the population of Earth to the New Planet Plant before Earth's explosion. However, when Goku teleports back to Earth to get a little boy who was left behind during the evacuation, Piccolo suddenly appears, saves the boy, and gives Goku enough energy to teleport back. However, he chooses to share the same fate as the Earth. Moments before his death, Piccolo has a telepathic farewell conversation with Gohan. He tells him that he chooses to remain behind as his death would cause the Black Star Dragon Balls to be eternally turned to stone. This way, no wishes from the Black Star Dragon Balls will be made, saving the Earth from a future disaster. Gohan bursts into tears and pleads for Piccolo to come with them, but Piccolo declines and tells him how proud he is of Gohan for how he has matured and the amazing potential he had displayed over the years. With the conversation over, Piccolo says his final goodbye to Gohan, who screams Piccolo's name in devastating sadness as his mentor dies a dramatic death in Earth's explosion.
The Earth is restored back to normal and everybody is back on it. Gohan says to Goku that he still misses Piccolo, but his father comforts him and says that he misses Piccolo, too, cheering him up. With that, Goku and Gohan are happy that the Earth and its inhabitants are safe for now.
Gohan, along with the rest of the gang, fight the villains that escaped from Hell. He mainly battles a revived General Rilldo, saving Pan and Hercule from him. He and General Rilldo have an evenly matched fight before Rilldo unexpectedly uses his metal ray to turn Gohan's right arm and left leg into metal. He is nearly killed, but was saved at the last minute by Majuub.
He then battles (along with the Goten, Trunks, Vegeta, and Majuub) against Super 17, even firing an incredible Kamehameha attack, which had no effect (Super 17 absorbed it). He is the first to be knocked out, but is saved, along with the others by Goku, who, with the help of Android 18, eventually kills Super 17 with a Dragon Fist followed by a Kamehameha.
Gohan, along with the rest, learn that thanks to the several wishes made to the Dragon Balls over the years, haved caused enough negative energy to turn the balls evil, causing seven powerful Shadow Dragons to emerge from them. Syn Shenron attacks Gohan
Pan and Goku are successful in hunting down and killing most of the dragons, but are no match for the powerful Syn Shenron. Gohan, Trunks, and Goten come to the rescue and revive Goku's energy, while Majuub holds off Syn Shenron. Shenron is, however, relentless at killing Goku, and tries his best to stop the re-powering. He is even successful in landing Gohan a devastating blow. Syn's efforts are in vain, though, as the three are able to restore Goku's energy.
Goku, now at full power, is more than enough to beat Syn Shenron, but things go for the worse when Syn absorbs all seven Dragon Balls, and transforms into Omega Shenron. Not even Goku is able to comprehend his power. Gohan and Goten in the final battle against Omega Shenron
The situation changes when Vegeta arrives and absorbed Blutz Waves from Bulma's new machine, to help him achieve Super Saiyan 4. Gohan warns Bulma that if given to much, he might lose control and became too powerful and uncontrollable (like Baby). However, Vegeta is successfully able to achieve Super Saiyan 4. It's not enough to stop Omega Shenron though, and Goku and Vegeta realize there's only one option: fusion.
Gohan, Trunks, and Goten hold off Omega Shenron long enough for the fusion to be successful, forming Gogeta. Gogeta is far more powerful than Omega Shenron, but because he failed to take the fight seriously, the fusion expires before he kills Omega Shenron. It now seems that all hope is lost, but Goku attempts to form an ultimate Spirit Bomb. The rest battle Omega Shenron, but all are defeated easily by him. They do however, hold out long enough for Goku's attack to be complete and kill Omega Shenron, once and for all.
This transformation occurs when a person with Saiyan heritage (and with a tail) looks directly at a full moon, or something that simulates its effects, such as Vegeta's Power Ball. The result is the waves from the moon stimulating a gland in their tails, enabling a seemingly unavoidable transformation. This is a complete genetic transformation, so it greatly affects Gohan's mental state. Because Gohan never had any proper training, Gohan loses all form of mental control, becoming a primal beast. However during his fight against Vegeta, Goku's words were able to reach Gohan enough to regain some of his rational thought and focus on his real enemy. Gohan only transforms into this state three times throughout the series, twice while he was training with Piccolo, and one final time when fighting Vegeta. He also transforms into this state the movie Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might when the main villain Turles creates a Power Ball and forces Gohan to see it, transforming him into a Great Ape. He later has his tail cut off by Goku, returning him to normal.
Unlock Potential, in truth, is not a form of Gohan but is simply an enhancement that he acquires during the Namek Saga. This term is only used in the Budokai games. Gohan acquired this when he visited Guru during his trip to Planet Namek. Guru placed his hand on top of Gohan's head and using his own powers, released Gohan's latent ki. This, however, did not release all of Gohan's hidden power, since he was still only able to unleash his hidden power through fierce rage. Gohan's abilities were enhanced along with the strength of his hidden power, and as a side effect, continuously grew alongside Krillin with each battle, as stated by Vegeta. The first time that he receives this power-up roughly multiplies his power tenfold, allowing him to access a power in around the mid-10,000s range, though with the subsequent battles against Recoome and Frieza, he grows many times stronger. During one bout of rage, he was even able to subdue Frieza's third form. According to FUNimation Dub, after this power-up, Gohan was equal to Vegeta's strength when the latter appeared on Earth.
The Gohan most associated with the main time line of Dragon Ball became a Super Saiyan at ten years of age (if including the time spent in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber), during the intense training he endured with his father to help him ascend. However, it is not exactly clear at what age and how he became a Super Saiyan in the alternate time line (Future Trunks' Timeline).
But it is suggested that he became a Super Saiyan after seeing his friends killed by Android 17 and Android 18, due to his fierce hatred towards them. Gohan is the fourth character in the series to appear as a Super Saiyan, and he was also the youngest until the appearance of his brother Goten, who accesses the state effortlessly at seven years old. In this state, Gohan was called the Gold Fighter by the residents of Satan City during the Great Saiyaman Saga.
Gohan is one of the first people to display full mastery over the Super Saiyan. Gohan had learned to perfect the Super Saiyan form with his father, when his father suggested that they remain transformed for extended periods of time so that they could master Super Saiyan, including all the unwanted behavioral effects. This mastery of the Super Saiyan enables full control over the energy output and consumption, completely diminishing strain on the body. Gohan continues to use this form during the Buu Saga, particularly when training with Goten.
Gohan was the first and the youngest character in the Dragon Ball series to reach Super Saiyan 2, achieving it at the age of 9 (10 if including the time spent in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber; 11 in the English anime). Of course this occurred when his dormant power was fully awakened through his rage at Perfect Cell for hurting his friends and killing the peaceful Android 16 (though it was revealed in an anime-only flashback by Goku that Gohan actually achieved the transformed state while training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but was too exhausted to maintain the form). While in this form, Gohan's hair stands straight up with the exception of one lock that hangs down. One thing is quite noticeable when he in particular manifests this transformation: his nature is prone to complete change, giving him an almost sadistic sense of mind. This is completely opposite of his natural reluctance and innocence when he is not transformed. The most noted example of this happening is his desire to watch Perfect Cell suffer before he was going to kill him, while prior to ascending to Super Saiyan 2, he made it quite clear that he didn't want to hurt or even fight Cell.
In addition to his battle with Cell, Gohan used this form to defeat Bojack in Bojack Unbound and to fight Broly in Broly: Second Coming. Famously, he also used it during the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament when Kibito asked him to demonstrate his Super Saiyan powers so that they may lure out Babidi's men; he instead makes the full jump to Super Saiyan 2, only to have Supreme Kai paralyze him so that his power may be drained (and subsequently returned, by Kibito) as to lure out Spopovich and Yamu, and lead them towards Babidi's Spaceship. He also fights Dabura and Majin Buu in this state, but loses to the latter and is nearly killed. In Dragon Ball GT, Gohan also used the form to stop a Baby-possessed Goten from destroying the planet, to fight Vegeta when possessed by Baby, and later to fight Super 17 as well as Omega Shenron. He does not use the state in the rest of the Dragon Ball manga nor anime until Dragon Ball GT. From all of Gohan's Super Saiyan forms, this is easily considered his most powerful form besides his Ultimate Gohan form, which is not a Super Saiyan form. Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 form can be differentiated as an adult in that his Super Saiyan form has one large lock clinging from his head followed by a thin one as opposed to his Super Saiyan 2 form which only has one large lock.
The Great Saiyaman (グレートサイヤマン; Gureto Saiyaman) is Gohan's alter ego and an attempt to hide his true identity from his classmates when he attended school in Satan City. The Great Saiyaman was first born when Gohan transformed himself into a Super Saiyan in order to disguise himself as he fought some bank robbers on the morning on his first day to school. However, his classmates (and in particular, Videl) began to note strange similarities between himself and the mysterious "Gold Fighter" (as they described his Super Saiyan form). Concerned that his identity might be figured out, but wanting to protect the city from random crime, he approached Bulma and asked her if she could invent a device that could instantly change his appearance. With his new costume ready and easily accessible with the press of a button, he could now protect the city without his identity being easily discovered.
Despite the new disguise and protection of his identity being discovered, the Great Saiyaman identity still didn't ensure Gohan's identity from being safe. Juggling between his school and superhero life proved to be difficult, and his classmates and teachers noticed that he was gone for a long period of time when he asked for bathroom breaks. Also, Videl proved to be a thorn in Gohan's side, as she was both reluctant to accept assistance from him and most importantly wanted to discover his true identity. At one time, the Great Saiyaman's true identity was in jeopardy of being discovered when he changed from being the Great Saiyaman to his normal form and noticed that his fellow classmate Angela was standing in front of him during his change; however, he was saved when she revealed that she didn't have her contact lenses on at that time and couldn't see anything- and that her big secret about Gohan was the fact that he wears teddy bear underwear.
Gohan's luck ran out when Videl eventually discovered his true identity when she noticed that Gohan had a band-aid to cover up a scratch to the face he received while fighting alongside with her under his disguise. Alternately, in the manga Videl discovers his true identity much sooner. The first time Gohan sneaks out of school to help Videl with some criminals, she recognizes his voice (implying he wasn't altering it like in the anime). She then tricked him into revealing his identity by asking "By the way, Gohan...how'd you sneak out of class?", which he responded to honestly before realizing what had happened. However, she promised him that she would not reveal his identity if he promised her two things: To enter in the World Martial Arts Tournament and to teach her how to fly, to which he reluctantly agreed. During the Tournament however, his friends learned of his true identity when they noticed the great similarities between Gohan and the Great Saiyaman (Gohan forgot to put his bandanna on after turning Super Saiyan in anger after seeing Videl's match with Spopovich). Incidentally on the same day, he transformed into a Super Saiyan again at Kibito's behest, confirming to both Videl and his friends that he was also the Gold Fighter as well. Videl then realized that Gohan was the young boy who also competed in the Cell Games tournament, and therefore questioned whether her dad really won the Cell Games Tournament or not (even going so far as to realize that it was Gohan who defeated Super Perfect Cell in the anime).
The name "Saiyaman" is a reference to his Saiyan heritage. He thought up the name on the spot while confronting two youths who were speeding in a car, and was easily offended when they laughed at his name. Later, the name was frequently mistaken for others, such as the "Great Soyman" or the "Great Singing man", which further aggravated Gohan. He was also noted for his comical poses (comparable to or even more ridiculous than the poses of the Ginyu Force) he would perform when introducing himself, and was generally written off as hilarious or weird. Nonetheless, he was still a respected hero within Satan City. While in this disguise, Gohan still uses his energy-based techniques, such as the Super Explosive Wave and Ki Blasts.
Gohan's ultimate power up when the full extent of his dormant power is released during the Fusion Saga. This power up was achieved by a special ceremony performed by Old Kai. Although technically this ability is not exclusive to Gohan alone as the ceremony can be used to unlock anyone's sleeping powers, his was unusual in the amount of time it took to unlock due to his amazing potential unlike any other person who had undergone this ritual before. Gohan activates this ability in a similar fashion to the Super Saiyan transformation, however the colors of his aura, hair, and eyes do not change. Only subtle differences are present, including more pronounced facial features, more upright hair, and a large, uncolored aura. This power up is referred to as "Elder Kai's Unlock Ability" in the Budokai series and "Ultimate Gohan" in the Budokai Tenkaichi series of video games. When first attained, Gohan's strength easily surpasses all of his other forms. Gohan's power in this form is on par with that of Super Buu after absorbing Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo, though Super Buu eventually outmatches Gohan due to his unique techniques and his absorbed victims' skills.
In the movie Wrath of the Dragon, Gohan is shown "powering up" into his ultimate state on several occasions during the battle against Hirudegarn, neglecting his multiple available Super Saiyan transformations. This movie is the last time Gohan used this transformation. In the same movie, Super Saiyan 3 Goku is shown to be more powerful than Ultimate Gohan; Gohan cannot hit Hirudegarn or block any of his attacks, while Super Saiyan 3 Goku almost single-handedly defeats the monster. This is partially due to Goku's superior fighting intellect, which led to his discovery of Hirudegarn's weakness (becoming angry whenever it is insulted).
Added by GohanFan7As a child, Gohan is known to have within him a seemingly limitless dormant power, which at first only revealed itself when he experienced fierce rage, and when his rage ended, his power would drop dramatically. The earliest occurance of this hidden power was when he almost crashed into a tree when his stroller was accidentally released, giving him enough power to plow a hole clean through the trunk to prevent him from being killed by flying into it as an infant.[1] 
Added by NicolebCell Games Saga, #171/156 ("Memories of Gohan")</ref> As he got older, he trained hard and gained access to a large portion of his power, and it was not until he was a young adult that his power was fully awakened and he was able to use it all at his own will. He displays exceptional power at a very young age, even surpassing his father Goku by turning into Super Saiyan 2 form and saving the world from the evil Cell at only eleven years old (he is 9 years old in the manga - in the manga it states that Gohan is 16 years old after the 7 years of peace following the Cell Games - though he is most likely around the physical age of 10 due to the time spent nearly a year inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber). Gohan is the first and the youngest to ever achieve Super Saiyan 2, he is also the only unfused half saiyan to ever reach this level. 
Added by SSJGoku93Gohan's appearance changes drastically through Dragon Ball Z, due to the fact that the series starts out with him as a child and ends when he is fully grown, married, and with a child of his own. But Gohan's basic physical appearance pretty much stays the same through the course of the series. Gohan has black hair and black eyes, he also has his mother's light peach complexion, rather than his father's light tan. Gohan also is quite muscularly developed for his age. As an adult, he looks slightly taller than Goku, but he is also a little bit thinner. 
Added by BeadtmdcWhile training with Piccolo, he wears an outfit similar to Goku's original, with the 'Ma' symbol (魔) King Piccolo wore. After training with Piccolo, he has a mullet-type haircut and dons a similar attire to the Namek warrior which he continues to wear until the end of the Captain Ginyu Saga, after which he wears Saiyan-style armor given to him by Vegeta. He would continue to wear clothing similar to Piccolo's for the majority of his childhood, but his hair trended closer to his father's wild self-cut style. While training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, he begins wearing Saiyan training gear, but again reverts to Piccolo's clothing for the Cell Games. 
Added by SsjgohanAfter their long trip, they finally make it to Namek, where they find out Vegeta has also come seeking the Dragon Balls, along with his former far more powerful boss, Frieza. While scouting the planet with Krillin, Gohan spots Frieza and his minions, Zarbon and Dodoria, tormenting Namekian villagers. When Gohan sees Dodoria, one of Frieza's top henchmen, attack a little Namekian child named Dende, he goes out and attacks him. Afterwards, Dodoria chases Gohan, Krillin and Dende, but they eventually lose him and Vegeta kills Dodoria. Dende leads Gohan and Krillin to Grand Elder Guru, the ruler of the Nameks, where he unlocks both of their hidden potential. Later, Gohan steals a Dragon Ball that Vegeta had hid in a lake for himself, and even tricks Vegeta who runs into him on his way back from retrieving the ball. Vegeta figures this out eventually and becomes enraged, but the arrival of the Ginyu Force makes Vegeta have to form an alliance with Gohan and Krillin in order to get all the Dragon Balls and put up a fight against Frieza's feared Special Forces. Unfortunately, when they gathered all of the Dragon Balls, they were ambushed by the Ginyu Force. The weakest of them, Guldo, was to take on Krillin and Gohan, but failed as Vegeta stepped in and decapitated him with his hand. 
Added by Jeangabin666When Piccolo (now greatly powered up after fusing with the Namekian hero Nail) arrives on the battle field, he fights an even battle against Frieza while Gohan and the others watch in amazement. However, Frieza transforms into his third transformation and gains the upper hand against Piccolo. Seeing this, Gohan becomes enraged and attacks Frieza with the Bakuretsu Ranma (a huge and powerful bolt of energy), hindering Frieza for a few minutes. Eventually, Frieza manages to deflect the attack back at Gohan, who is saved by Piccolo when he destroys the attack with a ki blast. Frieza then transforms into his final form, and as his first act, kills Dende, who had been healing the Z Fighters. Frieza then tries to kill Gohan with a Double Death Beam, but Vegeta saved the young Saiyan by kicking him out of the way of the blast. Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo watch in horror as Vegeta gets brutally beaten by Frieza until Goku arrives. In the end, Vegeta meets his end at the hands of Frieza, who kills him with a Death Beam. 
Added by Procopis1Later, Gohan again transforms into his Super Saiyan form and trains while Goku sits down and watches his son's training in his Super Saiyan form improve. Gohan gets tired and transforms back into his base form when Goku demonstrates the Ascended and Ultra Super Saiyan forms (which are the forms that Vegeta and Future Trunks are using against Cell, who by this time had achieved his perfect form by absorbing Android 18). 
Added by CombustionManSeeing this incredible strength and power, Gohan is sure Goku can beat Cell, but Goku says he can't. He explains that because his muscles are now bulky, they slow down his speed, which is obviously important in the fight with Cell. Goku tells Gohan that transforming into a Super Saiyan takes a great deal of energy, but they need all the Super Saiyan energy they can get. Goku comes up with a plan to transform into a Full-Power Super Saiyan, so he tells Gohan to try and stay transformed as a Super Saiyan for the whole day when it starts to feel normal. 
Added by SSJ2AJBWith their training finally completed, Gohan and Goku emerge from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber as Full-Power Super Saiyans. As Goku and Gohan are eating food made by Mr. Popo (because they don't really know how to cook when they were in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber), Future Trunks, after being defeated by Perfect Cell along with his father Vegeta, tells them that Perfect Cell is hosting a tournament for the Earth's strongest warriors called the Cell Games, to which Goku thinks of it as an interesting challenge. While Goku wears his trademark orange and blue clothes for the tournament, Gohan asks Piccolo for a copy of his uniform, since he was his first mentor. Piccolo conjures up a uniform similar to his for Gohan, who happily appreciates the new outfit. 
Added by Nappa'sgoateeHowever, unknown to the Z Fighters, Cell survives the explosion, regenerating from a lone cell in his core. Doing this effectively raised his power higher due to the Saiyan genes he absorbed from Goku and Vegeta, and he also learned Goku's Instant Transmission technique, which he used to head back to Earth. As his first act of return, Super Perfect Cell kills Future Trunks with one blast in front of the shocked Z Fighters. Gohan was in fact pleased to see Super Perfect Cell had returned, hoping to defeat the android so he could avenge his father. Enraged by his son’s death, Vegeta in a fit of fury and rage, transformed into to a Super Saiyan and attacked Super Perfect Cell with a powerful barrage of energy blasts. However, as the dust clears, Super Perfect Cell, emerges from the blast, unharmed, and smacks Vegeta aside to the ground and fires a powerful blast at the Saiyan prince. Gohan jumps in front of the unconscious Vegeta and takes the full-force of Super Perfect Cell’s attack, costing him the use of his left arm and most of his power drained. 
Added by CJSTRO14During his training with the Z Sword, Gohan reunites with his father Goku, who has returned from Earth where he transformed into Super Saiyan 3 to fight Majin Buu. Goku is surprised to see that his son is still alive and discovers Supreme Kai was behind this. Seeing Gohan’s excellent progress with the Z Sword, Goku decides to test its strength by throwing a huge boulder, which Gohan easily slices in half. Supreme Kai summons Katchin, the densest metal in the universe, to test if Gohan can slice through it. However, when Goku throws the Katchin at Gohan, the Z Sword snaps in two and from the broken sword emerges Old Kai, who tells them that he will fully unlock Gohan's latent potential in a ritual. 
Added by Kill YouGohan arrives on the battlefield where he finds Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo, who reveal that all of their friends and family were killed and eaten by Super Buu. Gohan is angry about this at first, but thinks he can still sense Dende’s energy. Gohan powers up and completely outclasses Super Buu, much to the shock of Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo. No matter how much he tries, Super Buu is unable to land any damage on Gohan, who easily dodges and blocks all of the monster’s strongest attacks. In an act of desperation, Super Buu attempts to self destruct and take Gohan with him, but Gohan sees through this and grabs and flies away with Piccolo, Goten, and Trunks before they are all caught in the explosion. 
Added by 10X KamehamehaAfter Dragon Ball Z, Gohan now works for Bulma's company as a researcher and, like Trunks, he rarely trains. He now is more concerned about being a good husband and father. He is one of the first to learn about Goku's transformation back into a child thanks to a wish made to the Black Star Dragon Balls by Emperor Pilaf. They all soon learn that if the Black Star Dragon Balls aren't collected and brought back to Earth within a year's time, the planet will explode. 
Added by Raging gohanThe Great Saiyaman (グレートサイヤマン; Gureto Saiyaman) is Gohan's alter ego and an attempt to hide his true identity from his classmates when he attended school in Satan City. The Great Saiyaman was first born when Gohan transformed himself into a Super Saiyan in order to disguise himself as he fought some bank robbers on the morning on his first day to school. However, his classmates (and in particular, Videl) began to note strange similarities between himself and the mysterious "Gold Fighter" (as they described his Super Saiyan form). Concerned that his identity might be figured out, but wanting to protect the city from random crime, he approached Bulma and asked her if she could invent a device that could instantly change his appearance. With his new costume ready and easily accessible with the press of a button, he could now protect the city without his identity being easily discovered. 
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