On An inherent Level, Does Ki Gain Vigor & Rise In Response To Higher levels Of Ki Being Introduced?

[theherodjl]

It has to, right? How else do various characters train for a bit and then surpass the level of the previous arc's challenge in whatever period of time? Or how some characters like Broly go from being on par with Goku & Vegeta's base forms to being on par with their SSJB forms in the span of several minutes?

[TobyS]

It has to, right? How else do various characters train for a bit and then surpass the level of the previous arc's challenge in whatever period of time? Or how some characters like Broly go from being on par with Goku & Vegeta's base forms to being on par with their SSJB forms in the span of several minutes?

I don't think there's any in universe proof. But that's always been my headcanon after raditz shows up, everyone who had been stagnating after the Budokai makes huge gains.

Hearing androids are on the way, and seeing as trunks, everyone makes huge gains not just Goku surpassing the first androids with ss which gero didn't account for but piccolo surpasses them too (ok there's the nail fusion)

Obviously the Saiyans guess there's a power beyond super Saiyan and all 4 are able to do it.

The buu saga is more conservative than people think they need fusion, ultimate, Majin ss3 and stuff to get any stronger and buu is a magical being so that seems to be the caps.

Stagnation again, but then The dragon team then scuffle with a god of destruction and everyone and their mum is able to get stronger again.

I like to think seeing higher powers shows them it's possible mentally to achieve and strive for it, like removing a mental block. But I've always wondered if being exposed to big chi's or god ki specifically has like a physical effect. I like to think it does, explaining Piccolos stagnation in z and massive gains in late super.

[BWri]

I started to think zenkais worked like this to headcanon my way around the namek era boosts. I can see it working like that in general though as a sort of survival mechanism. It seems like all races may have this ability inately but that the Saiyans have a boosted form of it.

Out of universe, we all know it's for plot convenience, but in universe, I'd like to think something like this exists. I like what TobyS describes too, since I believe this happened to Trunks in the DBS anime after he briefly fought Vegeta. I think exposure to higher power, especially if it connects with you directly does somehow increase spirit or the potential of that spirit.

[GokuHater]

Well, in universe it has to logically tbh.
Other way it would not be possible for the characters to gain that much more strength as they go along.

The real reason though is like always ... They gain as much strength as the plot demands :p
Toryiama wasn't always super consistent with it honestly... The best argument is when 1 year of training for Goku and Gohan in RoSaT did a lot more than 3 years training for Androids.

[BWri]

Some of it is imagination too though. A really strong person shows up and shows everyone that it's possible to break current limits. Raditz, Nappa, Vegeta, Frieza, Trunks, Androids, Buu, Beerus, Frieza again and other universes all showed that it was possible to break current limits and sparked their imaginations for what was possible.

That's why the off-screen powerups are so disappointing to me, because I'd love to see the stories of how each individual character breaks their limits. As is, i have to headcanon that they're getting stronger through osmosis/exposure and via the dragon balls in Piccolo's case.

[dbgtFO]

I like to think seeing higher powers shows them it's possible mentally to achieve and strive for it, like removing a mental block. But I've always wondered if being exposed to big chi's or god ki specifically has like a physical effect. I like to think it does, explaining Piccolos stagnation in z and massive gains in late super.

Yup, this is what I believe as well.
Also I really like the idea of the arrival of powerful foreign people affecting the Earth itself with their ki and subsequently raising the potential of people there indirectly.
As an example, Raditz was killed and I assume he was buried, so besides the "ki radiation" he would have given off, his entire being would be absorbed into the ground, making Earth have more ki to pass around to the beings living there.

[GreatSaiyaman123]

I always thought this was the case. It's sort of a mental block, certain levels aren't even conceivable until you actually see them. That explains why Vegeta or Gohan didn't become Super Saiyans back on Namek for example, though there are other explanations for that.

[Anonymous Friend]

It's sort of like the joke in the second Cooler movie in DBZA. They thought they were hitting them as hard as they could, then they realized they needed to hit them even harder that that.

In Dragon Ball, it was always a matter of finding a higher leveled teacher, or even better training or some such. It went from Goku finding his grandpa's master in Roshi, to finding one of Roshi's teachers in Korin, then Korin's super secret dangerous training. and climbing even higher thann the tower to train with Popo, and then Kami. Once you train with god, you have to train with god's supervisor. And currently, they're training with the assistant to the regional manager.

[Lionel]

I agree with the others. It's a matter of conceptualising what was previously thought to be inconceivable in the mind of the Z-Warriors. During long periods of relative peace where the fighters are training conventionally you see how they don't appear to benefit much -- Goku and Piccolo between classic DB and Z or Cell and the Buu arcs are examples of this phenomenon. Having the proper mindset, shoki, is a component to ki. It wouldn't be surprising to learn that adjusting and harmonising one's shoki to the new realities of strength allowed for the fighter to dramatically increase their ki in response.