Dragon Ball: 20 Crazy Secrets About Goku And Vegeta’s Friendship

Goku and Vegeta have gone through some tough times together. From battling Frieza, Cell, Majin Buu, and each other, their whole friendship is based on battling.

This isn’t surprising, as they are both Saiyans, a class of powerful warriors that thrive on the prospect of fighting to the finish and constantly surpassing their physical strength.

One of Dragon Ball Z’s ongoing themes focuses on going above all set limitations in order to reach success. Both Goku and Vegeta are constantly able to go past their limitations in the series.

Goku has loving friends who glorify him as the strongest warrior around. When he transforms into Super Saiyan for the first time, it happens unexpectedly without him having to dedicate strenuous mental energy.

Vegeta falls on the opposite end of this spectrum, though. Vegeta must constantly train in order to surpass his current Saiyan strength, and he begins his journey with no real friends. Sure, he later gets married, has two children, and is eventually considered a Z-Warrior by Dragon Ball Z’s conclusion, but he earns all of this by making sacrifices and changing himself for the better.

These are just a few things that are known about Goku and Vegeta and how they interact in the Dragon Ball universe.

Here are the 20 Crazy Secrets About Goku and Vegeta’s Friendship.

20. Their Friendship Starts When They Defeat Frieza

As time goes on throughout Dragon Ball Z, Goku and Vegeta’s bond strengthens over the fact that they are both Saiyan and have common enimies. The main enemy who they both must defeat together is Frieza.

In the Frieza Saga, Frieza admits to having destroyed the Saiyan’s home planet Vegeta. To everyone’s shock, Vegeta isn’t surprised.

He admits that he knew this and had been planning his revenge slowly over the years. He then has one last, tear-jerking moment with Goku before Frieza delivers a lethal blow. Goku takes his place on the battlefield and the rest is history.

Had Goku and Vegeta never joined forces in order to defeat Frieza, they probably wouldn’t have become friends.

At the end of their first battle, Vegeta is distraught because he was defeated by a “low-class” Saiyan, and all he can think about is recuperating in order to get revenge.

Goku, on the other hand, knows that he’ll probably have to face-off against Vegeta again when he lands on Namek.

Ultimately, it is Vegeta tale of Frieza enslaving him over the years that makes Goku see him in a softer light. For Vegeta, seeing Goku as a Super Saiyan for the first time brings him an unspoken joy, especially since he gets to see Frieza squirm at the sight of what he fears most: a Super Saiyan.

This is the first time that Vegeta exhibits a genuine admiration towards Goku.

19. They Never Defeat Each Other

Goku and Vegeta begin their friendship on the battlefield. However, they’ve never actually defeated each other in battle.

In the Saiyan Saga, Goku arrives at the battlefield and takes Vegeta on at full-force. Vegeta is caught off-guard, shocked that a “low-class” Saiyan can match his strength in battle.

After Vegeta turns into the Ozaru (the grea ape), he gains the upper hand and almost squashes the life out of Goku. Fortunately for Goku, Krillin and Gohan return to the battlefield and intervene before Vegeta is able to finish him off.

The battle ends with Goku and Vegeta both down for the count, which is technically a stalemate.

From that point forward, a rematch becomes an awaited and drawn-out reality for the two fighters.

When these two finally have their rematch in the Majin Buu Saga, they unleash their strongest fighting techniques.

Vegeta is determined to destroy Goku (though he’s already deceased) once and for all, showing him absolutely no mercy. However, out of the blue, Vegeta has a change of heart and instead goes off to battle Majin Buu.

This is the very last time that Goku and Vegeta battle against each other (in Dragon Ball Z, at least).

18. Vegeta Is Probably Stronger In The Android’s Saga

Vegeta goes away during the three years that the Z-Fighters are preparing to fight against the Androids. While Goku and the rest of the fighters prepare, they still balance out their training schedules with other tasks, like getting a driver’s license in Goku’s case.

Goku also spends time with his family, dividing his attention between training Gohan and actually doing family activities with him and Chi-Chi.

Vegeta spends every waking moment during those three years pushing himself to ascend to Super Saiyan. He almost loses his life during his self-preparation.

Since Goku is already confident in his Super Saiyan transformation, he instead trains in order to polish his abilities.

When the first set of Androids finally appear, Goku manages to fair decently against Android 19. If it wasn’t for his heart virus, Goku might have actually defeated him.

However, the reality is that its Vegeta who disposes of Android 19 without breaking a sweat. Since no one ever gets to see Goku fight any Android at full capacity, all that can be judged is what is seen– for Goku, its a rather quick defeat at the hands of the weakest Android.

This is is one of Vegeta’s shining moments as the series’ strongest fighter.

17. They’re Both Unemployed

Throughout Dragon Ball Z’s 291 episodes, neither Goku nor Vegeta are ever seen at work. In fact, they never mention any work besides training.

This might seem perplexing and most fans probably haven’t given it second-thought (after all, why focus on their finances when they are such powerful warriors), but it doesn’t make much sense.

The only explanation for these two’s disinterest in becoming hardworking, family men is the fact that their wives are already rich.

Vegeta marries into the richest family in DBZ’s version of Earth, while Goku is married to Chi-Chi, the Ox King’s daughter. Why should Goku have to worry himself with backbreaking labor when he’s married to royalty?

There are contradictions to both instances, however. For Vegeta, it seems completely out-of-character given his strong, Saiyan Pride, to live off his wife’s affluence. In Goku’s case, he’s probably never given it deep thought since he grew up hunting for survival.

Nevertheless, there’s one instance where it appears like Chi-Chi’s family wealth is running dry. In the Majin Buu Saga, Gohan is blackmailed into joining The World Martial Arts Tournament by Videl. When he reluctantly accepts, Chi-Chi becomes ecstatic at the thought of the prize money.

It is clear that both Goku and Vegeta have at least one thing in common: they are both stubborn and refuse to stop training,

16. Goku Suffers From A Pride Complex Similar To Vegeta’s

Saiyan Pride appears a lot throughout Dragon Ball Z, and it’s usually demonstrated through Vegeta’s many impulsive decisions. However, Goku’s had his share of pride-driven moments as well.

In the Saiyan Saga, Krillin is seconds away from destroying Vegeta when Goku begs him to stop. While Vegeta eventually becomes a good guy, he’s everything but good at that moment, as he had just tried to annihilate Goku and his friends moments before.

Goku has no idea that Vegeta will eventually switch sides, and he doesn’t care. Goku wants a rematch with Vegeta. Despite the fact that others may be put in danger because of this, Goku wants Vegeta to be spared.

In the Majin Buu Saga, Goku reveals that Super Saiyan 3 is a transformation that he has long possessed. Yet, he allows his fight with Vegeta to drag on, allowing Babidi to gather enough power to awaken Buu.

Goku claims that he did this to spare Vegeta’s pride, but given the way he punches Vegeta, it can be assumed that he just wanted the rematch.

Later on in the saga, Goku is revived and returns to Earth in order to fight Buu. He then admits that he could have easily defeated Buu in his Super Saiyan 3 form, but didn’t do so because he wanted Goten and Trunks to fight the villain.

Then, when Goku and Vegeta face off against Buu in the Supreme World of Kai, Goku comments that he could’ve defeated Buu when their battle began but held back to give Vegeta a go.

All these instances involve Goku’s Saiyan Pride. Perhaps the two Saiyans have more in common than they’d like to admit.

15. Vegeta has Never Called Goku By His Earth Name

“Goku” is actually the name that Grandpa Gohan gives Goku when he finds him as a baby. When Goku’s brother Raditz later arrives on Earth, he reveals that Goku’s actual name is Kakarot and tells him about their family history.

Later, Vegeta and Goku meet. After their first encounter, Vegeta refers to Goku solely as Kakarot, refusing to call him by his Earth name. The only time that Vegeta calls Goku by his Earth name happens towards the end of the Frieza Saga and beginning of the Cell Saga.

When traveling through space looking for Goku after his fight with Frieza, Vegeta lands on a planet previously ruled by Frieza and questions its inhabitants, hoping to learn of Goku’s whereabouts.

Vegeta says to one of them, “It was you and your idiotic friends that started it in the first place, now tell me where Goku is.“

In the Cell Saga, Vegeta says to Trunks, “Kakarot, the one you call Goku, and I are the only Saiyans left.” However, even these two instances are questionable, as they come from the English Dub of Dragon Ball Z, which most fans know is heavily edited.

14. Vegeta Never Admits To Goku That He’s Stronger

While there’s an entire, epic moment in the Majin Buu Saga when Vegeta finally admits to himself that Goku’s the best, it happens in an internal monologue that Goku never hears. This moment aside, Vegeta never openly admits that Goku’s his fighting is superior.

When Dende heals Vegeta after Krillin almost destroys him in the Frieza Saga, Vegeta proclaims that he’s reached the level of Super Saiyan.

This quickly proves false when Frieza pummels him to the ground, with Goku arriving moments before Frieza delivers him the final blow. Shortly after, Vegeta is wished back to life and he sees Goku’s Super Saiyan form firsthand. Even then, Vegeta doesn’t admit Goku’s superiority.

In the Cell Saga, Goku holds his own against Perfect Cell for sometime before giving up so that Gohan can take the stage.

Though Goku is no match for Perfect Cell, he fights him head-on for a good couple of episodes, oppose to the one episode where Vegeta is quickly defeated by the villain. However, again, Vegeta never admits that Goku is the stronger Saiyan.

In the Majin Buu Saga, Vegeta allows Babidi to take over his body in exchange for increased power.Vegeta obviously does it to finally match Goku’s strength, but he never admits it. Instead, Vegeta recites a long monologue about how his family has made him “soft.”

In short, Vegeta will never openly admit that Goku is the strongest Saiyan around. It’d be too much of a blow to his Saiyan pride.

13. They Both Have Saiyan Hairstyles

One of Goku’s unique traits is his hair. Throughout the entire Dragon Ball series, Goku’s friends comment on how it looks. Many of his friends assume that its another part of his strange biology, just like his tail.

Vegeta later sheds more light on the topic of Saiyan hair in Dragon Ball Z.

During the Cell Saga, Vegeta, Trunks, Goku, and Gohan train in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber in order to prepare to fight against Cell. When they exit the chamber, Bulma points out that Trunks’ hair has grown out significantly compared to Vegeta’s, which remains the same as when he first stepped into the room.

To this, Vegeta responds, “a pure Saiyan’s hair stays the same after we’re born, and doesn’t go through any weird changes.“

The only exception to this rule is when Goku turns Super Saiyan 3, which is a transformation that causes his hair to grow considerably.

Even then, the hair growth is temporary and reverts back to its original length when the transformation ends.

The only other time that either Goku or Vegeta have an altered hairdo is in Dragon Ball GT. In GT, Vegeta sports a shorter and spikier hairdo along with a mustache. However, this doesn’t really count as it’s been established that GT isn’t canon.

12. They’re Both Not Very Active In Their Children’s Life (Though Vegeta Is Around More)

While Vegeta has a reputation for being anything but loving or sentimental, he’s still a lot more sincere than Goku. Before Trunks is born, Vegeta spends most of his time flying through space, training to become a Super Saiyan and trying surpass Goku.

However, after Cell is defeated and Goku sticks around in the afterlife, Vegeta decides to actually be a dad. With Goku no longer around, Vegeta because the strongest pure-blood Saiyan.

Instead of fixating on the fact that he is the only Saiyan around, though, Vegeta finds balance and dedicates time to being with his half-Saiyan son.

He trains Trunks, spends time with him, takes him to the park, and when Majin Buu surfaces, Vegeta sacrifices his life for both his son and Bulma, his wife.

Goku, on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired as a parent. While Gohan is growing up, Goku spends most of his time training in outer space or staying in the afterlife instead of being an active father figure.

Goten only gets to meet Goku due to a one day pass that the afterlife grants him for his good deeds in life. If it wasn’t for this, Goten would have never met Goku.

In terms of raising children, Vegeta has always been a better father than Goku. Though Vegeta has often used Goku as a reference point to help him improve himself, Goku has never once done the same.

11. Vegeta Has Saved Goku’s Life More Times Than Goku Has Saved His

Despite the fact that Goku is often seen as the hero of Dragon Ball Z, Vegeta has saved Goku far more often than Goku has saved Vegeta.

In the Saiyan Saga, Goku asks Krillin to spare the fallen Vegeta for a rematch, and in the Frieza Saga, Goku arrives in the knick-of-time right before The Ginyu Force can do away with the Saiyan Prince, Gohan, and Krillin.

In no other moment in Dragon Ball Z does Goku save Vegeta’s life (the Majin Buu Saga doesn’t count because technically, Vegeta isn’t alive to begin with).

Vegeta, on the other hand, has saved Goku’s life time-after-time.

When Captain Ginyu swaps body’s with Goku and he ends up badly hurt during the ensuing battle, Vegeta restores Goku’s health by placing inside one of Frieza’s recuperation tanks.

When Android 19 is about to finish a fallen Goku, Vegeta arrives at the battlefield and steps-in (granted, this is mainly to gloat about his newly attained Super Saiyan form).

Similarly, when Evil Kidd Buu gets the upper hand on Super Saiyan 3 Goku during their fight in the Sacred World of Kai, Vegeta challenges Buu in order to give Goku time to gain the necessary energy to defeat their pink, crazed opponent.

By the end of the battle, Vegeta is hanging on for dear life due to his injuries from fending-off Buu so that Goku can complete the Spirit Bomb.

With 4-2 saves between the two, it’s a wonder that the two are still friends.

10. While Goku And Bulma Are best friends, Vegeta And Ch-Chi Never Exchange A Word

Goku and Bulma meet in the first episode of Dragon Ball and from there, they go on countless adventures.

They search for the dragon balls, defeating Emperor Pilaf, travel from Martial Arts Tournament to Martial Arts Tournament, and use Bulma’s technology and Goku’s brute strength to defeat greater enemies. The two make a powerful duo.

Unfortunately, in Dragon Ball Z, their friendship isn’t as prevalent.

However, it’s still referenced from time to time when the Z fights recall the good ole’ days. Ultimately, Goku passes down the torch to Vegeta when he and Bulma get married. While they aren’t as close as Goku and Bulma were when they were younger, Bulma and Vegeta work well together.

For some reason, though, Vegeta and Chi-Chi never exchange words, let alone become friends.

Not once during the entire duration of Dragon Ball Z do Vegeta and Chi-Chi talk. They see each other multiple times at Kame House, Capsule Corp, or at friendly gatherings, but it seems like they have an unspoken vow of silence.

The funny thing is, though, that in terms of personalities, they’re extremely similar to each other and probably have a lot in common.

9. Goku Sticks Around The Afterlife Longer

Goku and Vegeta pass away two times each in Dragon Ball Z. While they’re both revived in the long-run, Goku tends to like the afterlife a lot. In fact, some fans believe that he prefers it to Earth.

When Goku is destroyed the first time, he asks to stay in the afterlife for an entire year so that he can train with King Kai. This wouldn’t be so bad if Piccolo, his sworn enemy at the time, hadn’t kidnapped Gohan to train him to fight against the Saiyans.

During this time, Piccolo puts Gohan through some intense training sessions in order to unlock his hidden potential. Gohan is only four years old at the time. He is terrified and just wants to be home with his parents, but Goku is nowhere to be found.

In the Cell Saga, Goku sacrifices himself seconds before Cell is about to self-destruct. This teleports them to King Kai’s planet.

When Gohan and the rest of the Z-Fighters attempt to revive Goku through the Namekian dragon, he says that he would rather not come back to life. He tells everyone that it’s for their own good since he tends to attract bad guys.

However, this also proves to be another selfish move. Not only does Goku leave the young Gohan (yet again) to be raised by Piccolo and Chi-Chi, but Chi-Chi is also expecting another child at the time.

Goku also seems to quickly forget about whenever anyone mentions the Otherworld Martial Arts Tournament.

8. Vegeta Is A Better Husband Than Goku

Goku and Vegeta have an interesting dynamic with their wives, to say the least. From bickering to laughing to crying, Chi-Chi and Bulma go through emotionally tense times with their respective husbands. However, at the end of the day, it’s Vegeta who shines through as the better spouse.

While Vegeta is seemingly uncaring towards his newly formed family in the Cell Saga, he becomes a lot kinder and caring later on.

He chooses to be a part of Trunk’s upbringing and seems to eventually develop an unspoken understanding with Bulma.

Vegeta even shows jealousy, especially when Goku mentions pawning her off on a date with Elder Kai. All in all, Vegeta seems to have a genuine interest in his wife and seems to truly love her.

Goku, on the other hand, has a one-track mind: battle.

Ever since Dragon Ball, his number one priority is training and finding opponents to challenge. Nothing changes after he marries Chi-Chi and starts a family with her.

From training in space after the Frieza Saga to abruptly abandoning his family in order to train Ubb at the end of the series, Goku is only motivated by his own desires, rather than the desires of his family. The perfect example is that he agrees to marry Chi-Chi because he thinks “marriage” is a food.

7. Vegeta Goes Through Some Real Development

Goku may be the main character in Dragon Ball Z, but between him and Vegeta, it is Vegeta who actually shows the most growth and character development throughout the series.

Vegeta goes from being an arrogant and cruel Saiyan Prince in the Saiyan Saga to being a rebellious ex-minion bent on eternal life in the Frieza Saga, wanting to surpass Goku’s Super Saiyan strength in the Cell Saga. Then, in the Majin Buu Saga, he finally becomes a self-sacrificing hero.

Vegeta is also the only character who undergoes significant internal struggles. When Goku goes Super Saiyan, Vegeta takes this as a personal blow to his Saiyan ancestry.

As result, Vegeta trains day and night, traveling from planet to planet, pushing himself to his limit just to go to the next level of his Saiyan strength. Even when he finally goes Super Saiyan, Goku manages to ascend past this level, and when it’s not Goku, it’s some other half-blood Saiyan, which continues to motivate Vegeta to take it one step further.

For Vegeta, his entire arc is about dealing with his own physical, mental, and emotional limitations.

Goku, on the other, remains the same from beginning to end. The only real changes that he undergoes are his Super Saiyan ascensions.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as Goku continues to be the same pure-hearted character who audiences came to love in Dragon Ball. However, when it comes to being the center of focus, Vegeta makes a far more compelling character.

For Vegeta, his relationship with Goku proves to be a basis for his motivation, whereas this is clearly not the case for Goku.

6. They Both Refuse To Surrender

Vegeta never ever gives up. Two definite examples of this seen during his battles with Cell and Majin Buu, two villains who Vegeta battles relentlessly.

When Vegeta fights Cell in his Imperfect Form, he gets carried away by his pride and allows the villain to reach his final form. This backfires, as Perfect Cell proves to be Vegeta’s superior, but even then, Vegeta gives it his all until he’s left unconscious in the dirt.

Later on in the saga, Vegeta goes on a rampage when Perfect Cell blasts Trunks through the chest. Vegeta strikes him with everything he has until Cell knocks him out.

When Cell’s about to blow-up the Earth moments later, Vegeta uses his remaining energy to deliver an unexpected blast, providing Gohan with enough time to retaliate and defeat Cell.

In the Majin Buu Saga, Vegeta battles Buu when he’s first hatched from incubation and sacrifices himself in order to defeat him. When he returns to Earth and battles against Buu once more, Vegeta gives it his all to buy Goku enough time to power up as a Super Sayain 3.

Vegeta knows that he’s outmatched, but his Saiyan Pride will not allow him to surrender even if the Universe’s existence wasn’t on the line.

No matter how high the odds are stacked against him, Vegeta stays on his feet until his last breath. Much like Goku, Vegeta refuses to surrender.

5. While The Androids Are After Goku, It’s Vegeta Who Battles Them (And Gets Defeated)

When Future Trunks travels back in time to warn the Z-Warriors about the Androids, he also tells Goku about the devastating heart virus that will end his life before the fighting even starts. He gives Goku an antidote that will cure him when the time comes.

Since Trunks uses his time machine to travel to this timeline, this also alters the unfolding of certain events, such as the progression of Goku’s heart virus.

Unfortunately for Goku, the virus strikes at the worst possible moment and almost costs him his life against Android 19. Luckily for Goku, Vegeta arrives at the battlefield and takes Goku’s place in the fight.

Vegeta does all the fighting for Goku from that point forward.

After the virus strikes him, Goku becomes bedridden for period of time. When Dr.Gero unleashes Androids 17 and 18, Vegeta and the rest of the Z-Fighters face-off against them.

Boastful about having easily defeated Android 19, Vegeta battles 18, and in a matter of minutes, he is embarrassingly defeated. However, Vegeta only has a few days to tend his injured ego, since Cell soon rises and poses a new threat.

By the time Goku wakes up from his temporary slumber, Cell has become the main villain and the Androids are more or less a thing of the past. Thankfully, Goku can rely on Vegeta to help him out when times are tough.

4. Goku Is Responsible For More Z-Fighter Casualties Than Vegeta

Goku has one character trait that his family and friends constantly criticize– he has terrible timing. From family gatherings to the gravest of battles, he’s always late for the show. His bad timing even occasionally costs the lives of his fellow Z-Fighters.

In the Saiyan Saga, Goku is revived a day before Vegeta and Nappa arrive on Earth, but he’s still on King Kai’s Planet. He races back to Earth to help wth other Z-Fighters out on the battlefield and discovers that there are only two still standing.

egeta doesn’t personally destroy any of them, though– Yamcha passes away through contact with a Saibamen, Tien passes away due to battle damage from Nappa, Chaiotzu self-destructs, and Piccolo sacrifices himself to save Gohan.

However, Goku could have saved all of them had he carefully planned his return to Earth.

After this battle, Vegeta no longer seeks to destroy any of the Z-Warriors and instead focuses on surpassing Goku’s strength.

In the Majin Buu Saga, Goku has two options when Buu creates a blast to destroy the planet– he can either save his friends or save Dende and Hercule. Due to proximity, Goku chooses to save the latter two as well as Vegeta, with Kabitoshin teleporting them away before the blast consumes them.

While Goku didn’t have time to save everyone, he still chose not to save his own children as well as Vegeta’s son.

3. Goku Has Made Many Wishes But Vegeta Has Not

Vegeta begins his journey in Dragon Ball Z as a villain with a one-track mind. He is determined to attain eternal life. This is the reason why he travels to Earth with Nappa in the first place. Yet, after his battle with Frieza, Vegeta seems to completely forget about his one goal.

In the Frieza Saga, Vegeta joins forces with Gohan and Krillin in order to collect all the dragon balls before Frieza does. At the time, Vegeta plans to use them for eternal life, but Gohan and Krillin beat him to the punch and use the wish to resurrect Piccolo instead.

Infuriated, Vegeta swears that he’ll get his revenge on them, but soon they all have s bigger threat to face: Frieza.

After this saga, eternal life no longer seems to interest Vegeta. He immediately begins training non-stop in order to reach his Super Saiyan form, and after Goku passes away, he continues training and begins to also focus on his family.

The only successful attempt at wish-making by Vegeta occurs in the Majin Buu Saga.

Vegeta asks Dende to summon the Namekian Dragon and wish for Earth to be restored in order to fuel the Spirit Bomb. Ironically, Vegeta’s only successful attempt at wish making indirectly results as a humble act.

2. Vegeta Is More Present In Gohan’s Life

One of the running jokes in Dragon Ball Z is that Piccolo is a better father to Gohan than Goku is. Vegeta takes a close-second in terms of being a father to the young boy, since Goku is extremely unreliable and shies away from such responsibilities.

In the Frieza Saga, Goku is running behind schedule and Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta are left to fend-off Frieza’s men until Goku is able to arrive.

During one of their battles, Vegeta saves Gohan and Krillin from Guldo’s lethal attack. Later on in the saga, Vegeta and the remaining Z-Fighters battle Frieza while Goku heals in a recuperation tank.

When Frieza reaches his final form, his launches a sneak attack on Gohan, but Vegeta manages to save him. Had Vegeta not been on Namek prior to and after Goku’s arrival, Gohan would have certainly joined the ranks of Frieza’s many casualties.

After the Cell Saga, Gohan’s upbringing is left in the hands of Chi-Chi. Gohan thankfully grows up to be a decent person, which may be due to the fact that Goku isn’t present in his life.

Though Vegeta and Gohan don’t share any heart-to-heart moments preceding the Majin Buu Saga, Gohan frequently visits Capsule Corp and forms a friendship with Trunks. It can be assumed that Gohan sees Vegeta on occasion during his visits, and that perhaps Gohan is closer to Vegeta than he is with his father.

Thankfully, since Goku and Vegeta have such a strong friendship, Goku can rely on Vegeta to help out his son when he isn’t around.

1. Vegeta Has Saved Gohan’s Life

While Gohan is Goku’s son, Vegeta seems to be in his life far more than Goku, and has even saved the young boy on more than on occasion.

In the Frieza Saga, Vegeta saves Gohan from Guldo’s attacks, Frieza’s onslaught (on more than one occasion), and allows the young Saiyan get toff of Namek in one piece.

In the Cell Saga, Gohan sustains a bad arm injury when saving Vegeta from one of Cell’s lethal attacks. This results in a broken arm that puts Gohan in a slight but considerable disadvantage against Cell.

When the two release an earth-shattering Kamehameha, Cell seems to be winning. This is due to Gohan’s arm injury as well as his broken spirit.

Cell eventually takes the upper hand and it seems like the Earth’s fate is sealed. However, then Vegeta steps in from the sidelines and strikes Cell unsuspectedly, allowing Gohan the time to retaliate and finally destroy Cell once and for all.

In short, if it wasn’t for Vegeta’s last-minute intervention, Gohan and the rest of the Earth would have perished.

Goku has saved Gohan two times– once against Nappa and another time against The Ginyu Force. However, in the battle against Nappa, had Piccolo not sacrificed himself to save Gohan, Gohan would have certainly met his end before Goku’s unfashionably late arrival.

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Can you think of any other interesting facts about Goku and Vegeta’s friendship in Dragon Ball? Sound off in the comments!