Piccolo


 * This article is about Piccolo Jr. For other name uses, see Piccolo (Disambiguation)

"It's ironic, isn't it? After all my years of training to defeat your father, I'd go out like this trying to save you; his son."

- "Goku's Arrival"

Piccolo (ピッコロ・ジュニア, Pikkoro Junia), is the Namekian reincarnation and final son of the original King Piccolo as well as the final villain in the first Dragon Ball series, and a protagonist in the Dragon Ball Z and the Dragon Ball GT series. He was born to avenge his father's death at the hands of Goku. According to Grand Elder Guru, Piccolo, along with Kami and King Piccolo, are part of the Dragon Clan, who were the original creators of the Dragon Balls.

After his narrow defeat against Goku, Piccolo is soon forced to form an, at first, uneasy alliance with Goku and his friends against newer, more dangerous threats. Thus, he and Goku kick off the formation of the Z Fighters. Also, out of necessity he also takes it upon himself to train Goku's young son Gohan, forming a powerful bond which ultimately redeems him when he sacrifices himself to save the child's life from Nappa. After his resurrection he fully joins Goku and the others in their struggles against ever more powerful villains on Planet Namek and Earth. As the story progresses, his role shifts from warrior to mentor. He is one of the most intelligent characters in the series, retaining King Piccolo's tactical genius, and later gaining Kami's great wisdom after fusing with the old Guardian.

Appearance
When Piccolo Jr. as a teenager is introduced, he appears very tall, roughly the same as King Piccolo, but with a more solid facial structure (lacking the large cheek bones and a humanly-shaped nose), as well as slightly thinner and a bit shorter (though, technically, he does not appear as a full grown adult until Z). Piccolo Jr.'s outfit when he was small was a very similar outfit to the one King Piccolo was first seen wearing (being of the exact same color scheme in the Kanzenban covers of the original manga), and from the time he's a young adult onward he wears the same gi as King Piccolo but minus the chest symbol and the color scheme switched where his gi was dark purplish blue rather than dark pale blue, and his obi light pale blue rather than light purplish blue, and he wore a white turban and an extremely weighted cape along with it when not fighting seriously. As the series went on Piccolo Jr.'s outfit became more his own, and by the time he faced Frieza his gi lost whatever blue was in its color and gained more of a purple one, his neckline becoming more low-cut like Goku's outfit, minus Goku's own undershirt. In the manga and in many of the movies he wore a red obi rather than a sky blue one. Even though Piccolo Jr. discards his old symbol, he uses it once in the series when he made his pupil Gohan a uniform after his previous outfit was torn in a Great Ape transformation brought upon by a restored moon. In a single filler episode in the anime, Piccolo is seen wearing an old outfit of Goku, which he despised wearing, when both of them are forced to go to driving school by Goku's wife, Chi-Chi.

Personality
Piccolo is originally villainous, much like his father. When battling Goku in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, he shows almost no mercy and no regard for his opponent, breaking all of Goku's limbs while laughing. Despite this, when he and Goku team up to battle Raditz, Piccolo does begin to show more honor during battle, even commemorating Goku on his noble sacrifice. After he trains and befriends Goku's young son, Gohan, Piccolo's heart and motives quickly begin to change. During the battle with Nappa, Piccolo goes as far as to sacrifice his life to save Gohan, stating how his friendship and love had changed him forever. Piccolo has stated that Gohan was the first person to see him not as a monster and was proud to call him his friend. Upon his return during the battle with Frieza on Planet Namek and after fusing with the Namekian warrior Nail, Piccolo fights for the honor of his people and to save the innocent. Years later, during the Androids and Cell arc, Piccolo still does retain a bit of ruthlessness and cockiness, but once he fuses with Kami, all traces of evil and hate disappear, and Piccolo is completely reborn as a pure soul.

Even after merging with Kami, Piccolo remains a loner, preferring to stand apart from others. He has little to say unless it involves battle, and does not seem to understand the concept of romance. (He often sees "mushy stuff" as disgusting).

Growing up and the World Martial Arts Tournament
"Why don't you reserve passing judgment until after you've seen my latest technique... It's a real showstopper!"

- Piccolo in "Junior No More".

After being punched through the chest and killed by Goku's Penetrate! attack, King Piccolo's last action was to spit out an egg containing his son and reincarnation Piccolo Jr, who was to avenge his death. Piccolo Jr. spends the next three years in intensive training, preparing himself for the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, where he knew Goku would be a contestant, with the intent to kill him and realize his father's dream of taking over the world. During the three year wait till the tournament, Piccolo wanders the Earth and trains for his revenge against Goku. During his wandering, he encounters a family celebrating a young boy named Tai. During the boy's birthday celebration, Piccolo vandalizes their home and then runs away from their dog when Tai's father orders it to chase him. When the dog nearly catch up to the young Namekian, Piccolo blasts it away in fear with a beam, realizing some of the potential he had.

After spending the three years training, a now physically teenage Piccolo entered the tournament using the alias "Junior" ("Ma Junior" (マジュニア) in the Japanese manga and anime, with "Ma" meaning demon). When the tournament started, Piccolo easily breezed past the preliminaries and into the finals. From there he first faced off against Goku's friend Krillin. Though Piccolo managed to beat him with relative ease, even believing at one point that he had killed the small warrior, Piccolo was surprised by Krillin's resilience. Krillin even managed to score a hit, but missed Piccolo using a Kamehameha blast. In their fight, Krillin eventually gave up, realizing he could not beat Piccolo.

His next match was against a powerful but nerdy human named Hero, whom Piccolo soon discovered was actually Kami, the good counterpart of Piccolo, in disguise by means of possessing a weak, everyday human.

When Kami attempted to use a technique to seal Piccolo into a small container (one like the Electric Rice Cooker which was used to seal King Piccolo for centuries prior to his release), Piccolo surprised everyone by reflecting it and instead captured Kami. Piccolo then swallowed the bottle, making chances of freeing Kami seem very slim, since both he and Goku knew that the only way to get to Kami was to kill Piccolo, and if that happened, Kami would also die.

Piccolo Jr.'s next fight was the one he had been waiting for, the match/rematch with Goku. Though Piccolo used an assortment of new techniques, Goku found a way to make many of them work to his advantage, and even freed Kami from captivity when Piccolo increased his size, tricking him into getting so large Goku could go down his throat and get the bottle. However, even after Goku seemingly defeated Piccolo by using the Meteor Combination attack, Piccolo managed to cripple Goku's arms and legs after surprising him with a beam through his shoulder, saying he will not make the same mistake his father did (that is letting Goku have one working arm). In the end, Piccolo lost narrowly, with Goku using flight for the first time to knock Piccolo out of the ring. He was shown mercy as Goku gave him a Senzu Bean, which fully healed him instantly. Piccolo held little gratitude for this act though, and promised to continue his quest to destroy Goku and take over the world before he left.

Saiyan attack
"Gohan, you're the only real friend I've ever had. Thank you... I'm proud of you. Wish me back, okay?... Get 'em... Gohan..."

- Piccolo to young Gohan as he dies after jumping in front of Nappa's blast to save Gohan's life

After his defeat at the hands of Goku, Piccolo vowed to continue his quest to avenge his father and kill Goku, and flies off into the sky. Five years pass and Piccolo has since continued to train in order to reach his goal, but one day he has a brief confrontation with the Saiyan Raditz, who found Piccolo due to his scouter when he was trying to find his brother Kakarot (Goku). Raditz shrugs off Piccolo's most powerful technique known at this time, the Destructive Wave, with Piccolo trembling in fear. Raditz ultimately ignores him in favor of his true target (whose power reading he had initially mistaken Piccolo's for due to their similar levels of progress), his younger brother Kakarot, who turned out to be Goku. When Piccolo learns of Raditz's plan to destroy humanity, he offers Goku a temporary truce in the face of this new threat, intending to resume his ongoing struggle with Goku afterward.

Achieving victory in the battle against Raditz at first seemed hopeless, as Raditz is considerably more powerful than both Goku and Piccolo together (being roughly three times the strength of Piccolo's 408 reading alone), with the latter losing an arm during battle. However, Goku and Piccolo both had the ability to raise their power levels over 1,000, something Raditz was unaware of at first. In the end (after the intervention of the young Gohan, Goku's son who was kidnapped by Raditz), Piccolo manages to mortally wound Raditz with the Special Beam Cannon, a powerful attack he developed, although Goku sacrificed his life in the process, and Piccolo thus avenges his father at a bit of an unexpected moment. Before dying, however, Raditz tricked Piccolo into telling him about the Dragon Balls, and reveals that two other, more powerful Saiyans, Nappa and Vegeta, will be arriving on Earth in one year. In anger, Piccolo finishes Raditz off with one final blow rather than making him suffer, an action noticed by Kami who suspects that Piccolo is changing. When Goku dies shortly afterwards his body mysteriously vanishes, with Piccolo confirming Kami's intervention.

With the news of even more powerful opponents soon to arrive, Piccolo takes Gohan to Break Wasteland in order to train the boy and use his massive potential to help defend the Earth from the Saiyans. Though his treatment to Gohan is initially harsh, he begins to warm up to the young boy, and the two form an unbreakable bond.

When Vegeta and Nappa arrive on Earth, they are met by Gohan, Goku's friends Krillin, Chiaotzu, Tien Shinhan, and Yamcha, and Piccolo; Goku had been wished back to life, but would take several hours to arrive. Piccolo soon learns from the Saiyans that he is a Namekian rather than a demon as he previously believed. The Saiyans then start the fight off by growing six Saibamen, small,humanoid plant-like aliens grown from the ground who all have power levels equal to Raditz' 1200, which they instruct to fight in a mock tournament against the Earth's defenders. The Saibamen are all destroyed, though Yamcha is killed in battle when one of them manages to grip him and self-destruct, killing them both. Piccolo destroys the last remaining Saibaman, after it attacks Gohan, with a punch in the stomach, followed by a mouth blast, disintegrating it.

With the Saibamen gone, Nappa, the larger Saiyan, decides to enter combat. In the ensuing fight, Chiaotzu and Tien perish, and the defenders of the Earth are heavily beaten. Despite Piccolo landing some decent hits, Nappa seems invincible. Remembering that during his fight with Raditz, Goku pulled and squeezed his tail tightly and had caused him unbearable pain, Piccolo attempted the same feat and got a hold of Nappa's tail (discussed with Krillin and Gohan after having a three hour break) but the monstrous Saiyan revealed he and Vegeta were immune to that handicap and knocked the Namek unconscious for a short while.

When the smaller, but more powerful Saiyan, Vegeta, detects that Goku is arriving, and that he is more powerful than anticipated (being read at 5,000 without powering up, already), he orders Nappa to quickly kill the remaining defenders, as their working with Goku might result in a challenge. Goku's resurrection proves that the Dragon Balls are legitimate, so they can use the ones on Namek and do not need the ones located on Earth. Nappa first aims for Gohan with an extremely powerful attack, but Piccolo jumps in the way of it, sacrificing himself to save Gohan. With tears in his eyes, Piccolo bids farewell to Gohan, whom he admitted had made him soft and is the only person to ever call him friend. Piccolo's death also resulted in Kami's passing, as they were once a single being, and therefore if one died then so would the other.

After the Saiyans are beaten by Goku and the remaining fighters, and Vegeta retreats, Gohan, Krillin and the brilliant inventor Bulma head to Namek and to locate the Dragon Balls so that they can wish Kami, Piccolo, Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu back to life and restore the Dragon Balls of Earth.

Piccolo's return
"I can't believe how much stronger they've already become. It can't be because of this...stupid training they've been doing...can it?"

- Piccolo thinking to himself as he takes on Tien, Yamcha and Chiaotzu all at once on King Kai's planet

As Goku was forced to do after his noble death, Piccolo travels down the winding Snake Way to King Kai's planet. There, he, Chiaotzu, Tien, and Yamcha all train under the watchful eye of King Kai. While it is unknown if he ever learned any of King Kai's secret techniques, Piccolo's power does increase so significantly that even Nail (a Namekian with a power level of 42,000) notes it as unbelievable.

The evil tyrant, Frieza
"Now that I have gained ultimate power, it's time to finish this."

- Piccolo as he prepares to take on Frieza

On Planet Namek, Gohan, Krillin, and Dende, a young Namekian who Krillin and Gohan had previously saved, gather the Namekian Dragon Balls and summon the Namekian Dragon, Porunga. Piccolo contacts Gohan (via King Kai's telepathy) and demands he be resurrected with the first wish, be sent to Namek to battle Frieza with the second, and then Gohan could do whatever with the last wish. Piccolo's reasoning was that if he is brought back, then the Earth Dragon Balls will immediately return alongside Kami, allowing for wishes to be made to bring back Tien, Chiaotzu and Yamcha.

Piccolo soon arrives on Namek at a random point, since Gohan did not specify where on Namek he should be sent to when he asked Dende to have Porunga grant the wishes. After recovering from the initial shock of seeing his strangely familiar homeland for the first time and feeling the suffering of his people, Piccolo heads in the direction of a large energy source, believing it to be Frieza.

During his flight, he passes over a dying Namekian, Nail; a Warrior-type Namekian who was earlier easily mauled by Frieza. Piccolo drops down to inspect the crippled Namekian and they begin to converse. Nail offers Piccolo to join with him, as the option of merging with his counterpart Kami could not be realized here (nor did Piccolo even want to be one with him, at this point). At first, Piccolo refuses, but Nail explains that Piccolo will not lose his personality, he will only feel the power gained from the fusion. Piccolo reluctantly accepts, and after the fusion is complete he is amazed by his awesome new power and rushes to Frieza's location.

When Piccolo arrives, he finds a battle in progress between Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta (who had rebelled against Frieza), with Dende supporting them, against Frieza. He then takes on Frieza, with the doubt of Krillin and Vegeta, who is in his second form, alone and is able to go blow to blow with him, even without removing his weighted clothing. Vegeta became shocked to find that the Namekian that Nappa killed with ease mere months ago had become so powerful. After a brief exchange of blows, Frieza transforms into his third form and assaults Piccolo with a large barrage of invisible and virtually unavoidable shots, crippling the Namekian.

An angry Gohan intervenes and blasts Frieza with a Full Power Masenko, but Frieza knocks it back, and Piccolo uses the last of his strength to deflect the projectile with one of his own before it can hit the young Saiyan. Frieza then begins his final transformation into his true form, and Gohan uses the opportunity to take Piccolo to Dende, who has the ability to heal others completely. Piccolo quickly recovers, but he knows that he is even more thoroughly outclassed by Frieza's new form. Frieza begins his renewed attack with a single blast that kills Dende (having seen him healing Piccolo midway into his transformation), preventing the warriors from being healed again; Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo respond with a joint assault but Frieza seemingly effortlessly evades all of their attacks.

Piccolo is then reduced to the sidelines, watching as a strengthened Vegeta attacks and falls against Frieza, helpless to intervene. After Goku arrives, Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo get out of his way, and after witnessing Vegeta's murder at the hand's of Frieza, he watches Goku and Frieza duel from afar. (He also implies that he would like to fight Goku when it's over, though only for kicks.) Goku is soon overwhelmed by Frieza once he powers up to 50% of his power, nullifying even Goku's Kamehameha fired with a 20-fold Kaio-ken boosting his power, and, in desperation, attempts to use the Spirit Bomb. In order to buy Goku some time, Piccolo takes most of the remaining ki from Gohan and Krillin and jumps in to help, catching Frieza off-guard and kicking him in the head, giving Goku just enough time to finish the Spirit Bomb and launch it towards Frieza, seemingly killing him. Piccolo drags Goku's body out of the water, and meets up with Gohan and Krillin, celebrating.

Just as our heroes rejoice, Frieza towers them revealing to still be alive, and shoots a powerful beam meant for Goku (in the anime only, for in the manga he intended to finish Piccolo and the others first all along, and as such aimed at him immediately), but Piccolo bravely takes the hit for his former rival and falls to the ground on the verge of death. After witnessing both Piccolo being heavily wounded, and Krillin being blown to pieces by Frieza, Goku finally had enough and untapped his hidden Super Saiyan powers. Gohan carried Piccolo off of the battlefield as Goku and Frieza clashed on the dying Planet Namek, with the former emerging as the victor. Piccolo is healed by Dende (who had been wished back to life along with the rest of the people killed by Frieza and his men) after being sent to Earth by a wish made to Porunga.

When the Namekians find a planet suitable to be New Namek, Piccolo declines to travel with them, and he stays on Earth with Gohan to protect and watch over the boy. Piccolo does not desire the peaceful, therefore dull, life to be had on Namek and instead wishes to keep training in order to become more powerful.

Garlic Jr.'s revenge
In this anime filler saga, Piccolo assists Gohan and Krillin in defeating Garlic Jr., a villain first encountered in the film: Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone, who returned with an incredible power up from the Makyo Star being near. Piccolo had to cope with Kami, his counterpart, sometimes getting hurt or tired, affecting Piccolo in battle. He also faked being under the influence of the Black Water Mist in order to get close enough to Garlic Jr. to free Kami and Mr. Popo, and in order to keep up the act, he had to act like he wanted to kill Gohan. Later, Piccolo, Gohan and Krillin manage to get Garlic Jr. sealed back into the Dead Zone.

The Mysterious Youth
One year after the events on Namek, Piccolo sensed Frieza and another powerful being heading towards Earth. He headed to the area where he detected they would land, and was soon joined by Vegeta, Yamcha, Puar, Bulma, Tien, Chiaotzu, Krillin and Gohan. Despair sets in on the group as they realize that there's little they can do to oppose such powerful foes.

Soon after Frieza and his father, King Cold, land they are confronted by a mysterious youth, who reveals himself to be a Super Saiyan and almost effortlessly destroys the father-son duo along with their minions. Piccolo and the others follow the youth, who tells them when and where Goku will be arriving. Just as the boy predicted, Goku lands and the boy converses with him privately, though Piccolo's superior hearing allows him to listen in.

The boy, known as Future Trunks, is the future son of Vegeta and Bulma and reveals a terrible plot by Dr. Gero, a scientist for the non-active Red Ribbon Army, to create powerful Androids for the sole purpose of annihilating Goku. The Androids soon spiral out of control, and after murdering their creator go on to destroy everything around them, making Future Trunks' world a nightmare where they kill all but a few tens of thousands of the population. They eventually kill all the Z Fighters with the exception of Goku, who dies from a heart disease six months prior to the attack of the Androids. Future Trunks has come back in time to both give Goku the medicine to cure the disease and give the Z Fighters ample warning. Future Trunks then departs back to his own timeline and Piccolo, since Goku does not know how to tell the group what he had discovered, explains everything to the group, except the identity of Future Trunks. The group then splits up to begin training for the oncoming threat, with Piccolo deciding to do his training alongside Goku and Gohan, which would later prove to have been a very wise decision. While training with Goku and Gohan, he also was forced along with Goku to take a drivers test so she will not have to do as much chores as a result of their training. He also had to wear human clothes presumably to disguise his origins. He attempted to drive relatively safely, but his driving instructor, Cynthia, proved to be a terrible influence, as she encouraged Piccolo to drive recklessly while Goku was driving recklessly against his instructor's wishes. Eventually, they took a second attempt at a drivers test under a storm, only for them to fail the test a second time to save their instructors.

The Androids
Three years have passed by, and Goku, Krillin, Piccolo, Tien, and Yamcha meet at the designated time to confront the Androids with Vegeta and Future Trunks coming. Yajirobe drops by briefly to give the group Senzu Beans and, as he was leaving, his hovercar had been destroyed. Still not sensing their opponents, Gohan realised that, being Androids, they have no ki to detect and therefore must be searched for by sight. Piccolo and the others enter the city to search, but do not know what the Androids look like. They soon detect a large drop in Yamcha's ki and rush to the scene, finding both the two Androids and a critically wounded Yamcha with a hole through his gut. Goku soon leads the Androids to a different location so that the city is not destroyed in their fight, though the Androids demolish a large portion of it before they leave.

The Androids choose to fight in a desolate region filled with rocky hills. Piccolo surmises that they chose the location so that they could escape to the hills if the fight dose not go their way. After the Androids explain that they have been watching Goku since he defeated the Red Ribbon Army up until his battle with Vegeta, Goku attacks Android 19. The Androids did not know of his ability to go Super Saiyan, and therefore his true strength. Piccolo is startled after Goku transforms because his power is much lower than it should be. Though Goku seems to be winning in the early part of the fight, he quickly loses his energy due to his heart disease and is eventually taken down by Android 19.

Piccolo and the others attempt to intervene, but Android 20 blocks their path and blasts Piccolo with his eye beams, sending him crashing to the ground. Vegeta then arrives, kicking Android 19 off of Goku and Piccolo quickly gets back up, revealing that he was pretending to be injured in order to catch the Androids off guard. Vegeta then kicks Goku out of the battle and Piccolo catches him, setting him down so Yamcha can take him home and give him the heart medicine that Future Trunks gave them]]. Vegeta and Android 19 then battle, with Vegeta revealing his ability to go Super Saiyan, and destroying 19 after confirming his ability to drain energy using the jewels embedded in his palms. Vegeta, severely drained from the fight with Android 19, acts as if he eager for a quick follow-up fight with Android 20. Nervous of Vegeta's new power, Android 20 fails to call the bluff and flees to the hills, while Vegeta is restored with a Senzu Bean.

Piccolo and the others start searching the hills for Android 20, but Piccolo is soon ambushed. With Android 20 holding a tight grip over his mouth and draining his energy, Piccolo sends out a telepathic message to Gohan. Gohan is alerted to the situation and heads for Piccolo Jr.'s now shrinking ki. He finds Piccolo and smashes Android 20 off of his mentor. Piccolo receives a Senzu Bean from Krillin and states that he will fight Android 20 himself. Android 20 is taken off guard by Piccolo's speed, and he quickly hits the android with several powerful blows, which surprises the Android because he did not expect for Piccolo to be this powerful. The Namekian finishes the battle with a powerful chop which takes off Android 20's right arm, while also referring to how he was formerly like Dr. Gero and consumed with the desire of revenge against Goku for his involvement in destroying a paternal figure of his, then sends him smashing him into the ground, badly beaten.

Krillin was astonished by Piccolo's power, believing Piccolo was extremely powerful for someone who is not a Super Saiyan. At this time Future Trunks shows up and states that Android 20 is not one of the Androids which caused such devastation in the future, having already seen the lifeless head that 19 was reduced into by Vegeta earlier. Bulma follows them closely in her skycar, and Android 20 sees his opportunity to escape and lets out an energy wave, destroying Bulma's vehicle and distracting everyone while he runs away, stating that he's going to activate Android 17 and Android 18.

Bulma informs the group that Android 20 is actually Dr. Gero, who reconstructed himself into an Android, and of the location of his lab in North City. Piccolo then tells Bulma about Future Trunks, who at this point is already born in the main timeline. He then takes off with Krillin and Tien to North City to find Dr. Gero's Lab and destroy the Androids before they can be awakened. Krillin finds the lab and alerts the others, but they arrive too late and the Androids are activated. The twin Androids then display mutiny on their creator by killing him, and against Gero's wishes awakening another Android: Android 16. Vegeta takes off after them and Piccolo and the others follow. When they catch up, they find that Vegeta has been fighting Android 18 and is not doing so well against the female Android due to his declining stamina. Android 17 warns them that if they get involved in the fight, he will step in as well.

They watch the fight and, though Vegeta seems to be on roughly equal footing at first glance (something that surprises Future Trunks because he never knew his father to be so powerful) Piccolo points out that Vegeta was tiring with every move and the Android was not. When Future Trunks gets involved with the fight after Vegeta receives a serious kick that breaks his left arm, Piccolo also charges in, but both are quickly swatted down by Android 17. When Piccolo gets back up, he charges at Android 17 who is choking Tien; when he reaches Android 17, he is felled with a single blow to the stomach that nearly tears through him.

The new threat, Cell
"The Piccolo that you know is gone! I am The Namek. And as for you, well, you're history."

- Piccolo after powering up against Imperfect Cell

Krillin gives each of the warriors a Senzu Bean and Piccolo states he has an idea (in the original manga, Krillin asks if Piccolo has any plans for defeating the androids, to which Piccolo barks angrily and lies that he is a demon and has used them all along whilst plotting to overtake the world). When Krillin asks what it is, Piccolo angrily snaps at him and then abruptly takes off to Kami's Lookout. Piccolo does not need to explain to Kami why he has come, Kami having already read his thoughts that Piccolo wishes to fuse with him and become whole once again. Piccolo rebuffs Kami, stating that they are not fusing on an equal level and will simply be using the old Namekian as a tool to become more powerful, stating that the only reason that Kami even exists now in face of all the converging foes is for the Dragon Balls. Regardless, Kami is not opposed to the idea of fusing with Piccolo, but he wants to observe the situation for a while longer to be sure that his last decision is made for valid reasons.

Piccolo starts to argue with him, but Kami counters by pointing out that even Future Trunks stated these Androids are different (being "much, much" more powerful, for one, and for having spared their lives, whereas the future counterparts killed them outright), and that it was Vegeta who started the fight they just had. Piccolo calls Kami a coward for his reluctance and waits on the lookout for him to make up his mind. When Kami learns of the recent arrival of a danger from the future far greater than the Androids, he realizes he has no choice. With Piccolo serving as the base form, they merge into one being, becoming the nameless Namek once again, himself stating that he was now no longer Kami or Piccolo.

Piccolo rushes to Ginger Town, the location of this murderous new enemy. The bug-like creature claims that he is Piccolo's "brother", which shocks Piccolo, and the two engage in battle. Piccolo seems to have the upper hand, but is taken off guard when the creature launches a Kamehameha at Piccolo, which shocked him, as the move was Goku's attack. As he was dodging the blast the creature latches onto Piccolo's back and stings his left arm, draining the life from it and rendering the limb useless and withered. Piccolo headbutts the creature and breaks free, but claims that with his injury he has been defeated, luring the creature into explaining his actions. The creature reveals his name as Cell, and that he is a combination of Earth's greatest warriors put together by Dr. Gero.

His purpose is to locate Android 17 and Android 18 and take their energy by absorbing them into his being so that he may achieve his Perfect form. Now knowing the creature's origin and intentions, Piccolo exposes his ruse, tearing the withered left arm free and growing a healthy one in its place, now prepared to resume battle with Imperfect Cell.

Future Trunks and Krillin soon arrive, and Imperfect Cell, now outnumbered, uses the Solar Flare (inherited from either Goku or the technique's coiner Tien) and escapes. Tien and Vegeta soon arrive and Piccolo explains the nature of Imperfect Cell to them. He and Tien then search for Imperfect Cell as the monster travels from town to town absorbing people's energy, but Imperfect Cell detects their ki and then lowers his own and hides every time they get close. Piccolo begins traveling on a jet plane, piloted by Yamcha, with Gohan, Krillin, and Tien so that they can keep their ki hidden while searching for the creature.

While searching, a recovered Goku teleports onto the plane and explains that he has a plan for himself, Future Trunks, Gohan, and Vegeta to use the Hyperbolic Time Chamber in order to train for a year in span of one Earth day. He then takes Gohan and teleports back to Kami's lookout. Piccolo and the rest keep searching but Piccolo begins to despair, knowing that with each town Imperfect Cell attacks, his strength grows and the monster will soon be powerful enough to confront and absorb the Androids.

Piccolo and the rest soon return to Kame House. By good or bad luck, the Androids soon arrive, demanding the location of Goku so that they may kill him to finish their game. Piccolo decides to use this opportunity to try and destroy them, thereby preventing them from being absorbed by Imperfect Cell. They head to deserted Tropical Islands and Piccolo learns that he will only have to fight Android 17, giving him a chance at victory. He and #17 are roughly equal in strength, and though Piccolo does not have the infinite energy of his opponent, he does have several tricks up his sleeve that prove an outstanding resistance, such as his amazing regeneration abilites and his variety of energy attacks, such as the Hellzone Grenade. However, Cell arrives in the middle of their fight.

With his increase in strength from absorbing countless humans from various cities, Imperfect Cell is now considerably more powerful than Piccolo, and on top of that Piccolo has expended a considerably large amount of his energy battling Android 17. After 17 is attacked by Cell, Piccolo steps in to help, but is easily swatted aside. Without any other options, Piccolo uses his desperation attack, the Light Grenade, and destroys the island that they were fighting on. But, Imperfect Cell avoids it, bearing no damage from the attack with his superior strength, and sets his eyes on the weary Namekian.

Realizing that the both of them can do nothing to defeat Cell, Piccolo warns #17 to run; however, he is interrupted by Cell, with one swift punch, which snaps the brave Namek's neck and takes him down. Seeing no need to absorb him, Cell, using his See Ya! technique, picks Piccolo up from the ground and blasts a hole clean through his stomach and tosses him into the ocean, leaving him for dead. Luckily, Piccolo barely managed to survive thanks to his regeneration and is soon rescued by Goku and taken back to Kami's Lookout, along with Tien who had distracted Cell to stop him from absorbing Android 18.

Combating Cell
Piccolo quickly recovers, but with Imperfect Cell having absorbed Android 17 and now in his even more powerful Semi-Perfect form, he can do nothing but watch. He observed as Super Vegeta first defeated Semi-Perfect Cell and then allowed him to absorb Android 18 and attain his Perfect form. He also witnessed Perfect Cell's subsequent victory over Future Trunks and his announcement of the Cell Games, giving the Earth's defenders ten days to prepare for his tournament.

The Cell Games
"Goku, you fool! We told you! But you wouldn't listen to us! Well, maybe you'll hear this - Your son's dead Goku! He's DEAD!!!"

- Piccolo to Goku after Cell blasted Gohan into a mountain of rock.

When Goku and Gohan emerge from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Gohan requests for Piccolo to give him a copy of his uniform, which Piccolo happily conjures up for him. He is also startled by how much more powerful Goku became with his mastery over the Super Saiyan form. Piccolo enters the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and, although becoming significantly stronger, is still nowhere near powerful enough to challenge Perfect Cell. After he emerges, Goku asks him if it is possible for him to split with Kami again. Piccolo states that he can not, so Goku instead goes to New Namek to recruit a new guardian, and returns with Dende who takes the position and promptly reactivates the Dragon Balls.

When the ten day wait is over, Piccolo accompanies Goku and the others to the Cell Games. He stays on the sidelines for most of the battle but speaks up when Goku, after first battling then yielding to Perfect Cell, volunteers Gohan to fight. Piccolo states that no matter how strong Gohan had become, there is no way he can fight Perfect Cell. He criticizes even further when Goku tosses a Senzu Bean to Perfect Cell so that the fight is "fair". When Perfect Cell manages to grab Gohan in a bear hug and begins crushing him, Piccolo blames Goku for his action, and prepares to enter the battle, even though it likely means his death. Perfect Cell soon stops his attack though, deciding to target Gohan's friends instead. He soon spawns seven Cell Jrs, one for each Z Fighter watching the fight. Piccolo does well against the Cell Jrs, managing to stand his ground despite Cell's comment that only Vegeta and Trunks were able to fight back, while the weary Goku and the powerless humans are easily beaten to the ground, but is soon overwhelmed until Gohan finally snaps and transforms into a Super Saiyan 2, and kills all of of the Cell Jrs with ease, leaving all of the Z warriors to look on in shock. In the anime filler Piccolo is actually shown to be the Z fighter who does a better job at beating the Cell Jrs, being able to assist Krillin, Yamcha and Tien for a while, however such filler goes against what happened in the manga.

Gohan battled Cell and was able to not only outmatch Cell, but also cause him to spit up Android 18 and revert back to his Semi-Perfect form. Piccolo then witnessed Goku's noble sacrifice as he teleported himself and a self-destructing Cell (who tried to blow himself up along with the Earth) to King Kai's Planet, which was destroyed along with everybody who was present at the time (Goku, King Kai, Bubbles, and, in the anime, Gregory). But, Cell survived and became even stronger thanks to his Saiyan genes. He teleported back to Earth (he learned how to use the Instant Transmission technique), and after killing Future Trunks, ensued in a Kamehameha duel with Gohan, who Cell had already weakened when Gohan attempted to save Vegeta from Cell's Death Beam. Piccolo, along with the other Z Fighters, assisted Gohan in the duel by blasting Cell with various ki blasts. (In the manga, rather than helping Gohan, Piccolo merely curses at his inability to make any difference in the situation, making it more of a surprise when Vegeta finally intervenes.) The efforts of the Z Fighters failed to faze Cell until Vegeta distracted him with a energy blast, which gave Gohan the time he needed to destroy Cell once and for all. Piccolo then lauded Vegeta on hitting Cell in an honorable move, but the latter just tells Piccolo to get lost. Piccolo returned to the lookout, where he, upon being asked whether Gohan could come and see him again there, tells him he would bet on it.

Seven years later
When Piccolo is informed by a now teenaged Gohan that Goku is coming back to Earth for one day and that they are entering the World Martial Arts Tournament along with Android 18 (who has reformed and married Krillin), Krillin, and Vegeta, he decides to enter himself as well, under the alias of "Ma Junior" (as he had previously done when participating in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament during the Piccolo Jr. Saga of Dragon Ball). While there, Piccolo encounters a small purple alien who disturbs him deeply. When it's Piccolo's turn to fight, he faces the alien as his first opponent and finds that he is extremely reluctant to attack him, causing him to question just who this being is. The alien responds directly to Piccolo's thoughts, telling him that he'll find out soon enough and that for now they should just enjoy the fight. Piccolo quickly surrenders the match without raising a fist. When they meet in spectators area, Piccolo asks the alien if he is Grand Kai, the ruler of the Kai's, a set of four gods who each watch over quadrant of the galaxy, the alien's companion responds that he's actually East Supreme Kai, a much higher being who looks after a quadrant of the universe). Piccolo, having much of Kami's essence, is awed by Supreme Kai's presence and extremely respectful of his place on the divine hierarchy.

During a later fight between Gohan and Kibito, Gohan's energy is drained by two very oddly powerful humans after he is paralyzed by East Supreme Kai, who intended to pursue the two to see where they would take the stolen energy. East Supreme Kai then sets off to follow them, stating that any help would be appreciated. Piccolo immediately joins him, followed soon by Goku, Krillin, and Vegeta. As they travel, East Supreme Kai informs them that the two humans are possessed pawns of a wizard named Babidi and they are collecting energy to revive a powerful force of destruction known as Majin Buu.

The evil wizard, Babidi
Piccolo and the others are joined by a fully recovered Gohan and Kibito, and then hide on a mountain near Babidi's ship and watch as he destroys the two human pawns as "their job was done". (Later, when they see that the stolen Super Saiyan 2 energy nearly filled up half of Buu's revival power, he curses his luck for killing them outright.) The group is then attacked by Dabura, The Demon King, whom Babidi has possessed as his strongest henchman with a power roughly equal to Cell's from when he faced Goku. Dabura quickly kills Kibito and spits on Krillin and Piccolo, turning them to stone.

The ancient monster, Majin Buu
"Why you little! I fought with both of your fathers in combat, since before you were born. You two don't have a clue! Even the smallest bit of power can mean the difference between winning and losing!"

- Piccolo angrily responds to Trunks stating he and Goten can easily kill Majin Buu

After Dabura is later killed by an awakened Majin Buu, Piccolo returns to normal, but was in pieces due to have been accidentally shattered by Trunks while he was turned into stone. Fortunately, his head was not damaged, so he was able to completely regenerate. On returning to normal, the first thing Piccolo senses is the awesome power of Majin Buu and in the field in front of them, he sees a badly beaten East Supreme Kai about to be turned into a snack for the monster. He is torn about what to do, as his instinct is to aid East Supreme Kai, but he knows that he can do nothing against Majin Buu.

Before Majin Buu can finish East Supreme Kai off, he was attacked by Vegeta, who was currently under Babidi's influence (but able to completely resist his control), and states that he will destroy Majin Buu in vengeance for the monster's (supposed) killing of Gohan, shocking Piccolo with the news. Piccolo watches their fight and barely escapes along with Goten, Trunks, and Krillin after Majin Buu unleashes his Angry Explosion technique. When Majin Buu resumes the attack on a badly wounded Vegeta, Piccolo is unable to prevent Goten and Trunks from rushing into the battle themselves. The pair manages to temporarily halt Majin Buu, smashing him through some mountains while his guard was down, and then attempting to aid Vegeta. Piccolo, in the meantime, confronts Babidi. When Babidi attempts to plead for his life, claiming that only he can prevent Majin Buu from becoming out of control, Piccolo states that it does not matter, as they will not allow Buu to live even if he is not alive, and chops the wizard in half, almost fatally injuring him and then spitting as a sign of spite.

Piccolo watches as Vegeta knocks the two kids unconscious. When he descends to Vegeta, Vegeta asks Piccolo to take the children far from the battle site. Piccolo realizes that Vegeta plans on sacrificing himself. Vegeta confirms this by asking if he will see Kakarot (Goku's original Saiyan name) in the afterlife and Piccolo states he will not, because Vegeta has committed too many evil actions before joining the Z Fighters to be on the same plane as Goku and he will instead be reincarnated, after his spirit is purified.

Piccolo, carrying the children, then retreats with Krillin until they witness an enormous explosion that Vegeta fueled despite all this, in an attempt to protect Bulma and Trunks, and "even Kakarot". After the blast had died down, Piccolo hands the kids to Krillin and tells him to tell everyone else what has happened and then goes back to the battle site to see what has transpired.

When he reaches the site, now a large crater, he pays his respects to Vegeta. He recalls about the time he had sacrificed himself to save Gohan's life many years ago, and bids farewell to the Saiyan Prince. He also finds a still barely alive Babidi, who survived due to his ability to conjure barriers. As he moves in to finish him off, Piccolo notices the pieces of Majin Buu moving. They quickly shape themselves into full miniature versions of Majin Buu and begin colliding into each other, reforming the original Majin Buu. He makes a fast retreat, catching up with Krillin and informing him that they have to go to Kami's Lookout in the slight chance that it might offer sanctuary.

Goku (who was rendered unconscious by Vegeta after a fight they had) soon arrives after them and they trade stories, informing Piccolo of Vegeta's willingness to become Babidi's pawn in order to gain power and his subsequent battle with Goku and stealing the last Senzu Bean prior to his attacking Majin Buu. Goku also informs Piccolo of the Fusion Dance technique he learned in the afterlife. Since both Gohan and Vegeta are gone there's no one for him to perform it with himself, but he can teach it to Goten and Kid Trunks, an idea that Mr. Popo ingenuously came up with.

Babidi then contacts all inhabitants of Earth telepathically, stating that he wants the location of Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo, and will destroy the lives of innocent people until they are found. After the first city is destroyed as a demonstration, Piccolo states that he will go to Majin Buu to try and spare some of the destruction, but Goku insists that he does not so that Piccolo can help teach the boys the Fusion Dance technique.

Once Goku returns to the afterlife (after a brief fight with Majin Buu in which he displayed the new Super Saiyan 3 transformation), Piccolo takes over their instruction fully, correcting them on the mistakes they make when their Fusions fail the first two times. When the Fusion works properly, he finds an entirely new challenge in trying to install some discipline and control in the extremely powerful, and equally arrogant, Gotenks.

The first time they fuse properly, Gotenks goes after Majin Buu in his base form and returns to the lookout, badly bruised and battered but still alive. Piccolo scolds the young fused warrior for disobeying. After Goten and Trunks fuse while in the Super Saiyan state, Gotenks rushes off to battle again, this time with Piccolo following him. Gotenks wastes a large amount of time demonstrating his speed by flying around the world dozens of times and even taking a nap whilst waiting for Piccolo to catch up, only seeking Majin Buu when there's one minute left in the thirty minute Fusion time limit. This causes him to separate before he can even face Buu, leaving his individual fusees to hastily escape before Buu can kill them.

While waiting the hour needed for them to recover and fuse again, Piccolo observes the changes in Majin Buu, brought about by his friendship with Mr. Satan, a human who fraudulently took credit for defeating Cell and therefore became regarded as the world's greatest hero.

Fusion plan
"Never train children when their mothers are around. It's always trouble."

- "Buu Against Buu"

Soon after, he witnessed the split of Mr. Buu into two separate Buu's, the battle between them, and the absorption of Mr. Buu by Evil Buu, resulting in even more powerful Super Buu. Super Buu is able to detect ki and quickly arrives at Kami's Lookout, looking for the stronger person who Goku said would fight with him. Piccolo tries to stall by saying that the fighter is sleeping and pleads for more time, to which Super Buu refuses.

Super Buu then sends out innumerable blasts, one for each person remaining on Earth, killing all, but Mr. Satan and the few who could avoid the beams such as Tien and Chiaotzu. When he demands to fight again, Piccolo asks that they have one hour to wake the warrior up and get him prepared, adding that Mr. Satan's child (Videl, who was brought to the lookout) also wants him to wait. Super Buu reluctantly agrees due to the little of the good Majin Buu that he had in him, but vows to kill everyone straight afterwards.

Piccolo wastes no time and quickly ushers Goten and Kid Trunks into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber where they can train for fifteen Hyperbolic days in the hour that Super Buu has allowed them. While waiting, he explains to Videl how Super Buu knows about her father and his achievement of taming Mr. Buu. After a bit less than thirty minutes, Super Buu loses patience and demands to fight their warrior immediately. Piccolo relents and starts leading Super Buu to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, taking the long way to maximize the time it will take, but Buu quickly becomes aware of the ruse and demands for him to take him there immediately.

He contacts Goten and Kid Trunks telepathically, telling them that he will be at the room with Super Buu in one minute, giving them six hours to rest up for the fight. Piccolo also has a secret plan that, if Gotenks is not capable of stopping Super Buu, he'll destroy the entrance to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, locking Super Buu and themselves inside for all of eternity.

Once Super Buu is in the room, Piccolo watches as Gotenks attacks him in base form with a multitude of goofy moves, doing no damage. Gotenks then turned Super Saiyan and, with a powerful Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack, blew Super Buu to bits. Piccolo, knowing what happened last time when Vegeta did relatively the same thing, ordered Gotenks to destroy all the pieces of Super Buu; it was in vain as the vapors from the burned pieces regathered and formed back into Super Buu, to which Piccolo curses his luck for not completely erasing the vulnerable pieces when they had the chance.

Piccolo then asked Gotenks if he had any more special attacks left, which Gotenks falsely denied, stating that all was lost. With seemingly no options left, Piccolo destroyed the entrance, trapping them in the room forever. Super Buu, so enraged about not having access to any candy ever again in his location, let out a mighty scream, ripping the fabric between the dimensions and creating a portal through which he escaped. Gotenks and Piccolo tried several times to recreate Super Buu's portal but without any success. Eventually, when there seemed to be no more options, Gotenks revealed that he had something up his sleeves and turned Super Saiyan 3.

He then quickly (and with more ease than the powered up Buu) blared open a portal which himself and Piccolo escaped from. On exiting, Super Buu boasted of his devouring all adult and teenager friends on the lookout, causing Gotenks to finally get serious and fight Super Buu fully. The resulting battle destroyed Kami's Lookout, leaving Piccolo despaired until he was asked by Gotenks to assist him in an attack where Super Buu was battered around like a volleyball whilst sealed inside Gotenks' Galactic Donuts.

Piccolo continued to observe the battle until Gotenks, just as he had a possible chance to defeat Super Buu with his enormous strength, reverted back to his base form shortly before the fusion itself wore off. Seeing no hope left, Piccolo prepared to make his last stand with the two young Saiyans who could no longer fuse for an hour. Super Buu was distracted though, and the appearance of Gohan, now massively more powerful than he had been before was the reason.

Gohan attacked Super Buu and proved to be his superior by far; Super Buu retaliated by exploding and hiding his ki from the group. While waiting for him to reappear, Gohan filled Piccolo in on his training at the planet of the Supreme Kais, where he had been since, his first encounter with Mr. Buu, while Piccolo was a stone statue, and his mystical power up by the workings of Old Kai that predated the current one by fifteen generations.

They then left to find Dende, whom Gohan sensed was still alive thanks to Popo's sacrifice. On the way they encountered Mr. Satan and Piccolo picked him up, seeing in him the beginnings of a true hero. They then reunited with Dende, but it was brief as Super Buu chose this moment to attack them again. Though Gohan stepped up to defeat him for good, Super Buu instead challenged Goten and Kid Trunks to fight him as Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks again, which they obliged. It was part of his plan though and once Gotenks appeared, he sprung his trap to absorb him for his power and also Piccolo for his intelligence.

The Final Battle
"Hmm...Who would have thought, Vegeta comes through in the clutch."

- Piccolo while donating his energy to the Super Spirit Bomb

After being rescued by Goku and Vegeta (as Vegito, who was purposely absorbed by Buu to free the others), Piccolo was killed along with Goten, Gohan, and Trunks when Kid Buu blew up the Earth, while Goku and Vegeta managed to escape Earth.

Piccolo was soon revived, along with the Earth and all its inhabitants, by wishes granted by Porunga. He then gave his energy to help form a Spirit Bomb being created by Goku to finish off Kid Buu after receiving Vegeta's planet-wide message, broadcasted by King Kai.

Some time after Kid Buu is destroyed, near the end of the series, Piccolo is seen at a party at Bulma's house.

Piccolo's last action in the series was, along with most major characters, to attend the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament ten years after the Kid Buu Saga and witness the emergence of Uub, the good, human reincarnation of Kid Buu.

Dragon Ball GT
In Dragon Ball GT, Piccolo makes a few brief but important appearances.

Baby's attack
"You're a parasite! You've lived off my friends' bodies long enough! Show yourself!"

- Piccolo challenging an infected Baby Gohan

In the Baby Saga, Piccolo detects the evil presence of Baby after he possesses Goten and then shows up briefly after Baby transfers bodies to Gohan. On arrival though, he is quickly blasted by the possessed Super Saiyan Gohan's Kamehameha, but survives the attack. He does not appear again until near the end of the saga when he saves a young boy who was left behind during the evacuation of Earth, as it was about to explode.

When Goku returns to teleport both Piccolo and the boy away, Piccolo gives him the energy he needs to do so, but decides to remain behind. The reason for the Earth's destruction was due to the Black Star Dragon Balls, artifacts made by Kami before he split with King Piccolo; by Piccolo's sacrifice, the Black Star Dragon Balls would be turned eternally to stone. His last moments show him having a telepathic farewell conversation with Gohan before dying again in the explosion on Earth. He does not wish to be brought back to life, so the Earth can be at peace from the Black Star Dragon Balls. He is sent to Heaven by King Yemma.

The Ultimate Android, Super 17
"Hahaha you fool! I am the Evil King Piccolo, and you made a mistake on sending me to the other world!"

- Piccolo trying to convince King Yemma to send him from Heaven to Hell

Later, in the Super 17 Saga, Piccolo starts blasting Heaven, so that King Yemma is forced to send him to Hell, where he and Dende can create a gateway between Hell and Earth that allows Goku to make it back and fight Super 17. Shortly afterwards, Nappa, General Blue, Staff Officer Black, and Major Metallitron, having been killed and sent back to Hell by Vegeta and Pan, respectively, attempt to fight Piccolo, although Piccolo presumably beats them.

The Shadow Dragons
"I asked what are you doing here!? Please tell me you haven't died again! Do you have any idea what I had to go through to send you back to Earth?"

- Piccolo as he bids his final farewell to Goku

In the final episode "Till We Meet Again", Goku goes to Hell to say his good-bye to Piccolo, promising to get him back into Heaven, where he rightfully belongs. Ironically, Piccolo seems to have become a protector of Hell, as we see him defeat a giant monster who was causing trouble, while the watch-keepers from Hell cheer him on.

Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone
In the beginning of the movie, Piccolo was training near a canyon, when he is ambushed by Garlic Jr. and his minions, being beaten to near death. This action also causes Kami to believe that Piccolo had died. Piccolo then arrives and teams up with Goku in order to pay back Garlic Jr and his minions for their attempt at his life, personally killing Sansho during the match. Eventually, he and Goku seemingly destroy a powered up Garlic Jr. via a barrage of ki blasts. Piccolo and Goku then are about to fight so Piccolo could "settle the score" with him, but Garlic Jr. reveals his survival, having wished for immortality earlier, and attempts to seal Goku, Gohan, and Piccolo in the Dead Zone. However, Gohan knocks Garlic Jr. in the Dead Zone. Piccolo and Goku then go their own way.

Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest
In the beginning of the movie, a reformed Piccolo saves Gohan and Oolong from an ambush from Dr. Wheelo's Bio Men, after they stumbled upon Dr. Kochin bringing the Dragonballs to the site of Wheelo's fortress to unseal it due to Bulma's Dragonball Radar picking it up. He apparently perished in the process, but in actuality, he survived and was captured, and then brainwashed into fighting for Dr. Wheelo by placing a gold root-like device on his forehead. The brainwashed Piccolo is then forced to fight Goku, although the device is eventually damaged enough to snap him back to his senses and attack Wheelo.

Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might
Piccolo appears to help Gohan against Turles, but is easily defeated. He reappears once again with the other Z Fighters to defend Goku near the end of the movie.

Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug
Piccolo aids in fighting against Lord Slug's henchmen. He eventually is offered by a beaten Wings to join Lord Slug, claiming that they are of the demon clan, but Piccolo refuses and blasts his head off. Piccolo was later instrumental in Lord Slug's final defeat, by having Gohan exploit Namekians' weaknesses to high-frequency sounds by whistling, and also removing his own ears so they will not be damaged from the attack.

Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge
Piccolo ends up saving Gohan from Cooler's Armored Squadron's ambush, by hitting Doore in the back with a ki blast just as Doore was going to crush Gohan's head with his right hand. Having witnessed their fighting style earlier, he also tells them they are unlikely to kill him. He later saves Gohan from Doore's pursuit by firing a homing energy beam at Doore, eventually killing Doore when his attempt at deflecting it failed. Piccolo then was caught in Neiz's body wave, although he shortly thereafter reflected it back at Neiz, frying and killing him. He then attempted to attack Salza with two chasing bullets, but Neiz managed to parry them. They fought to a stalemate, but just before Piccolo could kill Salza, he ended up ambushed by Cooler, being hit with a beam to the chest. Piccolo could only express shock at Frieza's apparent survival, mistaking Cooler for Frieza, while being hit with multiple Chaotic Death Ends. Eventually, Cooler manages to bring a comatose Piccolo to Salza, asking him what he should do with him. When Salza properly introduces Cooler to Goku, Cooler demonstrates how merciless he is by dropping Piccolo's body and then hitting him with yet another Chaotic Death End before Goku could catch him, to Goku's horror and rage. This action was one of the things in Goku's mind that resulted in Goku becoming a Super Saiyan again. Despite this, Piccolo managed to survive this, and later managed to save Gohan, Goku, Icarus, Oolong, and Krillin from Salza by firing a Special Beam Cannon at him from far away.

Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler
Piccolo is among the Z-Fighters who travelled to New Namek to aid the Namekians from the new threat of the Big Gete Star. He fights with Krillin and Gohan against the Cyclopian Guards. He later attempts to get to the Big Gete Star, but is forced to fight a Meta-Cooler (to which he expressed shock as to how it got there so quickly, not realizing that the Meta-Cooler fighting against Goku was actually just one of an entire line of them). Eventually, he manages to survive the battle when Goku and Vegeta overloaded the Big Gete Star's systems with their Super Saiyan energy, as well as getting Gohan, Krillin, Oolong, Yajirobe, Master Roshi, and the Namekian populace out.

Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku
Piccolo is seen in Bardock's visions of the future.

Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!
Piccolo arrives to help Goku fight against Android 13. After 13 manages to become Super Android 13, Piccolo and Goku attempt to defeat him, but were beaten relatively easily. He attempts to protect Gohan when Gohan attempts to fight off 13, but is knocked back. He later manages to pull 13 in a full nelson to throw off 13's S.S. Energy Bomber from Goku's Spirit Bomb and is knocked back for it, although not before buying Goku enough time to finish it.

Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan
"You're not just fighting a Saiyan, you're fighting a monster."

- Piccolo

Piccolo had sensed Broly's immense power, as well as Broly's severe insanity from Kami's Lookout. This, along with his earlier having overheard King Kai's conversation with Goku about the destruction of the South Galaxy at Broly's hands, prompted him to depart for New Planet Vegeta with a Capsule Corps spaceship. After landing it, he let Krillin, Oolong, Master Roshi, and the surviving Shamoian Slaves leave with it to escape from the doomed planet. He then saved Gohan from Broly's Eraser Cannon at the last second, and then accused Broly of being a monster who picks on children first, before Broly counters that he's not simply a "monster", but the devil himself. Piccolo then gives Gohan, Goku, and Future Trunks Senzu Beans to refresh them before they challenged Broly again. Piccolo was eventually knocked away by Broly to Vegeta's location. He then tries to force Vegeta to fight Broly, but when it became apparent that Vegeta was not going to snap out of his terrified state, he, disgusted with Vegeta's cowardly behavior, drops him down to the city after telling him to stay clear of the true warriors. Eventually, he expended most of his energy fighting Broly, and agrees to lend Goku his remaining energy as a last resort to defeating Broly. Eventually, he and the rest of the characters somehow managed to teleport inside the Capsule Corporation ship shortly after Broly's defeat.

Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound
Piccolo participates in the Intergalactic Tournament, and faces off against Krillin after getting through the preliminaries. However, he ends up forefeiting because he was disgusted that Krillin was not doing well against him. Eventually, he returns to help Gohan fight against Bojack and his gang, but ends up beaten down. He later stands in solitude in the hospital courtyard with Vegeta, similar to Super Android 13.

Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!
Piccolo also attends Mr. Satan's party in ''Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!''. Like most of the other Z Fighters and their family members, they watch Goten and Trunks's battle with Abo and Kado from the sidelines due to the enemies being weak enough for the children to handle them. When Gohan coaches the two, Krillin remarks to Piccolo on Gohan's dependability although Piccolo says he is "still too weak", leading Krillin to note Piccolo was still the strict master. Later on, he briefly goes into action by using his Special Beam Cannon to destroy the giant blast fired by Aka, protecting Bulma, Chi-Chi, Oolong and Puar.

Power level
His power in early Dragon Ball Z is 322, and light weighted clothing it is 408. A year later, during the battle against the Saiyans, his held back power level is 1,220, then 1,400, and 3,500 while fighting Nappa. After he had fused with Nail, he is around Frieza's power level, which is about 1,000,000. Turles's reads Piccolo's power level at 18,000 in The Tree of Might.

Fusion
During the events of Dragon Ball Z, Piccolo used the Namekian Fusion with Nail, and later with Kami. In the 13th issue of Shonen Jump, there was a what-if Fusion Dance of Piccolo and Krillin called Prilin. In the video game Jump Super Stars, he has the ability to fuse with Dr. Mashirito.

Video game appearances
Piccolo has been in many Dragon Ball-related video games, such as Dragon Ball 3: Gokuden (and its remake), Dragon Ball Z: Kyōshū! Saiyan, Dragon Ball Z II: Gekishin Freeza, Dragon Ball Z: Legend of the Super Saiyan, Dragon Ball Z III: Ressen Jinzōningen, the Gaiden: Saiyajin Zetsumetsu Keikaku series, Dragon Ball Z: Goku Hishōden and Goku Gekitōden, Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuden: Kakusei-Hen, the Legacy of Goku series, Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors, Dragon Ball Z: Sagas, Dragon Ball GT: Transformation, Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu, Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World, Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans, and Dragon Ball Online. He is playable in the following fighting games: Dragon Ball Z: Gekitō Tenkaichi Budōkai, Dragon Ball Z, the Butōden series, Dragon Ball Z 2: Super Battle, Dragon Ball Z: V.R.V.S., Hyper Dimension, Dragon Ball Z: The Legend, the Budokai series, the Budokai Tenkaichi series, Super Dragon Ball Z, Data Carddass Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Z: Bakuretsu Impact, Dragon Ball Z: W Bakuretsu Impact, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Battlers, the Raging Blast series, Dragon Ball Heroes, Dragon Ball: Zenkai Battle Royale, and Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi.

Piccolo is aslo a playable character in crossover games such as Battle Stadium D.O.N., Jump Super Stars, and Jump Ultimate Stars. In Jump Super Stars, he breifly fuses with Dr. Mashirito for a tag attack, the resulting character using a yelling attack. In most Dragon Ball video games, Piccolo has no transformations, however in the Budokai and Budokai Tenkaichi series Piccolo has multiple forms, such as post-Nail and Kami fusions. In Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors, in Piccolo's story it is revealed that his power will be increased further if he fuses with King Piccolo (which makes him truly complete). The increase is enough for him to equal Super Buu in combat.

Voice actors

 * Japanese dub: Hiromi Tsuru (child); Toshio Furukawa (teen and adult)
 * English dubs:
 * Ocean Group dub: Scott McNeil
 * Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout: Daniel Woren
 * FUNimation dub: Christopher R. Sabat
 * Blue Water dub: Ethan Cole
 * Spanish dubs:
 * Latin American: Yamil Atala (child); Carlos Segundo (teen and adult - DB, DBZ, DBGT); José Luis Castañeda (DBZ; some episodes, DBZ movie 3, DBZ movie 8); Idzi Dutkiewicz (DBZ Kai)
 * Tagalog Dub: Bernie Malejana
 * German Dub: David Nathan
 * Brazilian Dub: Luís Antônio Lobue
 * Italian Dub: Paolo Torrisi (child); Alberto Olivero (adult); Piero Tiberi (Dynit dub)
 * Portuguese Dub: Ricardo Spínola (DB and DBGT); João Loy (I); Vítor Rocha (II)
 * French Dub: Philippe Ariotti
 * Croatian Dub: Matko Knešaurek
 * Polish Dub: Zbigniew Konopka
 * Castillian: Luis Fernando Rios (DB and around 70 episodes of DBZ); Antonio Inchausti (†, rest of DBZ, DBGT, Movies)

Major battles

 * Kid Piccolo vs. Two King Soldiers (Anime only)
 * Piccolo vs. Krillin
 * Piccolo vs. Hero (Kami)
 * Piccolo vs. Goku
 * Piccolo, Goku and Gohan vs. Raditz
 * Piccolo vs. Gohan
 * Piccolo, Gohan, Krillin, Yamcha, Chiaotzu and Tien Shinhan vs. six Saibamen
 * Piccolo, Krillin, Gohan, Chiaotzu and Tien vs. Nappa
 * Piccolo vs. Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu
 * Piccolo (fused with Nail) vs. Frieza (second form)
 * Piccolo (fused with Nail), Krillin, Gohan, Vegeta, and Goku vs. Frieza
 * Piccolo (fused with Nail), Krillin, and Gohan vs. Garlic Jr. and the Spice Boys (Anime only)
 * Piccolo (fused with Nail) vs. Android 20
 * Piccolo (fused with Nail), Tien, Vegeta, and Future Trunks vs. Android 17 and 18
 * Piccolo (fused with Nail and Kami) vs. Imperfect Cell
 * Piccolo (fused with Nail and Kami) vs. Android 17
 * Piccolo (fused with Nail and Kami) & Android 17 vs. Imperfect Cell
 * Piccolo (fused with Nail and Kami), Vegeta, Future Trunks, Goku, Krillin, Tien and Yamcha vs. Cell Juniors
 * Piccolo (fused with Nail and Kami), Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Vegeta and Gohan vs. Super Perfect Cell (anime-exclusive)
 * Piccolo (fused with Nail and Kami) vs. Babidi
 * Piccolo (fused with Nail and Kami) vs. Baby Gohan
 * Piccolo (fused with Nail and Kami) vs. A Hell Monster

Movie battles

 * Piccolo vs. Sansho
 * Piccolo, Goku, and Gohan vs. Garlic Jr.
 * Piccolo (controlled) vs. Goku
 * Piccolo vs. Dr. Wheelo
 * Piccolo vs. Turles
 * Piccolo vs. Wings
 * Piccolo vs. Angila and Medamatcha
 * Piccolo vs. Salza, Neiz, and Doore
 * Piccolo, Krillin, and Gohan vs. Cyclopian Guards
 * Piccolo vs. Android 13
 * Piccolo, Gohan, Vegeta, Goku, and Trunks vs. Broly
 * Piccolo vs. Bojack

Dragon Ball Z

 * Raditz – Goku held Raditz in place, and then Piccolo shot him with a Special Beam Cannon, mortally wounding him. Piccolo later finished Raditz off while he was laughing at him.
 * Goku – Though he sacrificed himself. He held Raditz in place so he could not escape, and Piccolo shot a Special Beam Cannon through both of them. Goku was later revived with the Dragon Balls.
 * Saibaman – Killed by Piccolo with the Explosive Breath Cannon.

Movies

 * Sansho – Piccolo smashed the demon into the wall and finished him with an energy blast.
 * Wings – Piccolo broke Wings's arm, then later shot an energy blast at his head, blowing it clean off.
 * Doore – As Gohan left to take the Senzu Beans to Goku, Doore chased after him, so Piccolo shot an energy blast at Doore that followed him around. Doore eventually tried to block it, but was unable to, and was destroyed.
 * Neiz – Neiz electrocuted Piccolo, but Piccolo, while electrified, grabbed onto Neiz's head, electrocuting him and killing him.
 * Salza – Salza was about to kill Goku and the others, weakened from battle, when Piccolo shot a Special Beam Cannon through him, killing him.
 * Hatchiyack – Only in the 2010 remake of Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans, Piccolo kills Hatchiyack by combining the Special Beam Cannon with the Super Kamehameha, Final Flash, Burning Attack and Super Masenko done by Goku, Vegeta, Trunks and Gohan.

Trivia

 * Piccolo is Akira Toriyama's favorite character. He explains thoroughly "I believe mine would be Piccolo. He was the first character in my manga where I was like, 'He has a scary face, but he's so cool!' It really is cliché when bad guys turn into good guys, but it just feels great drawing it!". However, he contradicts this in an interview with Shonen Jump where he states that Goku is his favorite character in the series.
 * Despite being about Goku's age physically (maybe older), he is actually only about 4 years older than Gohan chronologically (based on the time line because he was spawned 3 years before the tournament in which he fought Goku, and Gohan was 4 years old when he made his first appearance 5 years later).
 * In certain Dragon Ball Z movies and video games (Supersonic Warriors 2 and Super Dragon Ball Z, for example) Piccolo's sash is red, like in the manga, instead of blue, and Gohan (during the Cell arc for example) in turn wears the same gi.
 * Around the start of the Namek Saga, it's revealed that his name means "another world" in the Namekian language.
 * The phrase "Piccolo" is used to open the door of the Namekian spaceship.
 * Due to Kami and King Piccolo being the same person, one would have to assume that Kami is also Piccolo's father. This is further verified when Kami calls him "son" towards the end of the Frieza Saga.
 * Piccolo and Zoro were seen together during Cross Epoch, and they both have the same FUNimation dub voice actor, Christopher R. Sabat. Zoro and Piccolo appear together again in the One Piece and Dragon Ball Kai "Dream 9" promo, yelling that people should watch One Piece after Kai airs.
 * In the Gameboy Advance game "Supersonic Warriors", Piccolo, in his own storyline, fuses with King Piccolo, becoming the true original Namek and attaining power that in all likelihood much surpassed what he ever reached in the series. In-game, Piccolo states, that although he is the reincarnation of King Piccolo, he is not King Piccolo himself, therefore it is fully possible to bring King Piccolo back for Junior to fuse with - as he does, much to his father's loathing, as Piccolo's evil essence had all but faded away by this point in the series, giving him a Kami-like disposition (his fusion with Nail may have also been a factor in this).
 * Piccolo has only been the strongest Z Fighter in the series at two points; when he fuses with Nail to battle Frieza and after he fuses with Kami to become the "Nameless Namek" to fight Imperfect Cell. In both cases, Piccolo fused with another Namekian.
 * In Budokai Tenkaichi 3, in the tournament mode, Piccolo's name is shown as Majunior (this is in reference of his previous alias when entering the 23rd and 25th World Tournament under this name).
 * Anyone killed by Piccolo before he turned good or by his evil father, King Piccolo, would be unable to rest in peace and their spirit would wander the world in agony. Since Raditz did not suffer this fate after Piccolo killed him, Kami cited this as an indication that Piccolo was becoming less evil.
 * In the second half of Dragon Ball GT episode 46, "Raising the Stakes", when Videl is changing to her Great Saiyaman 2 outfit, a small Piccolo toy can be spotted in a box.
 * Like Goku, Piccolo generally wears and trains with weighted clothing. However, in the case of his cape, the cape itself is not weighted but there is weighted padding underneath. This can only ever be seen two times - when his cape is damaged while fighting Form 2 Frieza, and when it is damaged in Lord Slug, by the titular villain's henchmen.
 * In total, the Earth is destroyed twice in the Dragon Ball series - once from Kid Buu, and once from the Black Star Dragon Balls. Piccolo is the only person killed in both Earth explosions.
 * Piccolo only has four fingers in the manga, but five in the anime.
 * In the real world, a piccolo is a half-sized flute. This continues his families name pun (their names are puns on musical instruments).
 * Young Piccolo's appearance is similar to Emperor Pilaf's appearance.
 * Piccolo has trained both of Goku's children. He trained Gohan to fight the Saiyans and Goten to fight Majin Buu.
 * During the fight between him and Goku in Dragon Ball, as well as on the fight with Raditz when he loses his arm, Piccolo is seen with red blood. But later in the series, he bleeds purple blood when wounded or killed.
 * A reccuring theme in most movies is that Piccolo always saves Gohan's life just moments before he is killed. In Broly - Second Coming, Gohan is saved by Krillin wearing a costume similar to Piccolo's.
 * He is one of several enemies or rivals to become an ally or friend. Others include: Oolong, Yamcha, Krillin, Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu, then Vegeta, Androids 16, and 18, Majin Buu, and finally Nuova Shenron.