Gohan's Anger

[MindForgedManacle]

One topic in particular has bugged me throughout the series, and it's not one I see talked about often. What exactly is Gohan's hidden power? How does it relate to his anger? Are either of these related to his hidden potential (what Old Kai's ritual released)?

This part is a bit unnecessary (though it explains what's confusing me), so I spoilered it.

Spoiler:

As we see throughout the series, his power level would spike whenever he got angry. Oftentimes, this would be referred to as him tapping into his hidden power. Does this mean he has an absurdly massive amount of Ki? But if that's the case, why could no one detect it unless he released it (was he born suppressing it?), especially given how large it turned out to be?
How is this distinct from his potential? Did Gohan have massive hidden power and massive hidden potential?

Sorry for all the questions, but I guess what I'm fundamentally asking is this: Is this an ability Gohan has (to spontaneously increase his amount of Ki) or is he releasing power he always has. So for example, after Old Kai's ritual, could his anger still cause his power level to skyrocket? As of Chapter 6 of the DB Super manga, we know from Vegeta that Gohan still has a massive hidden potential, greater than his own and Goku's.

[Doctor.]

My hypothesis is that he was born with an abnormal amount of Ki, but was subconsciously suppressing it all (hence why nobody could sense it and why he could never use it even after leaning how to control his Ki), like you theorized. It was when his emotions spiked that he was able to release it for a split second.

[MindForgedManacle]

That sounds right to me, though narratively I want it to be the ability to raise his power level exponentially. >.<

However, it may be something else. If I recall correctly, one of the Daizenshuu say that his hidden power is limitless. This seems similar to Vegeta's statement in Chapter 6 of Super that he still has an absurdly large hidden potential. Or is his "dormant potential ability" entirely separate from his subconsciously-suppressed Ki?

[Innocent-Halfbreed]

I think it's because at the time, he is but an innocent child. And since he is half Human too, he has human emotions, which Saiyans lack.
And the combination of human emotion and Saiyan power was an unknowingly powerful combination.
So when Gohan gets angry, his Saiyan powers are exposed.
However, it wasn't until he was a teen that he realized how he could control it.
But that's my idea.

[DanielSSJ]

I think it's a bit of a mix between Gohan subconsciously suppressing his strength and that he just has a massive load of dormant strength. When he was younger, his powers were limited by his own hesitation and only really showed themselves when he was really angry or desperate. As he grew older, he gradually learned to tap into his humongous reserves of strength, without emotional limiters, but he could still access huge amounts of dormant strength when his emotions ran high.

[Draconic]

I think Gohan's dormant powers are based on his age and body. When he was a little kid, he already had enough power to contend with people like Zarbon and Dodoria (after Guru's unlock). Then, as he was beaten down and recieved zenkais, his body becoming stronger, his powers grew too as he still had rage boosts after. Then, in the ROSAT he trained his body further and the dormant powers inside him grew as well. Then, as a teen during the Buu arc, he got even closer to the prime of his body (remember that he is like 15) which is why his dormant powers were so great, as they had seven years to build up inside of him. Then, in the Super manga, Vegeta points that Gohan still has huge potential, since, again, the power built up inside him more and more, but, since he hadn't trained at all (unlike in the Buu arc, where he trained for the tournament and with the Z Sword before getting his dormant powers released) his body couldn't handle it. Gohan now is in the prime of his life, so his potential power, imo, is greater now than it's ever been.

To sum it up, Gohan's dormant powers are directly proportional to his body state, which means they will probably peak by the age Goku was when he turned SSJ for the first time (which I think he is at?), and stale or gradually get lower, till he turns 80. His dormant powers, however, don't decide his power, since stuff like training is necessary for him to handle it (similar to SSJ3 Goku). His anger is only a way for them to come out in short bursts.

[MindForgedManacle]

@Draconic I like that theory, it seems to be pretty explanatory and it gives them the option to legitimately give Gohan a major boost in Super (pleas don't disappoint me!). Just a few follow-ups.

So was Old Kai just releasing Gohan's dormant power at the time? Was this power that the same power that Gohan accessed via anger or something else entirely?

Why would those powers decrease until he was around 80? Did't Goku say that 80 was still pretty young for Saiyans (presumably this means they're still in their prime until that age)?

[Draconic]

@Draconic I like that theory, it seems to be pretty explanatory and it gives them the option to legitimately give Gohan a major boost in Super (pleas don't disappoint me!). Just a few follow-ups.

So was Old Kai just releasing Gohan's dormant power at the time? Was this power that the same power that Gohan accessed via anger or something else entirely?

Why would those powers decrease until he was around 80? Did't Goku say that 80 was still pretty young for Saiyans (presumably this means they're still in their prime until that age)?

Yes. Old Kai was releasing the dormant power Gohan had, which he could have released trough anger (though he didn't have any moment in the Buu arc to showcase it, except Videl getting beat up, which I don't find a true rage boost). Those dormant powers were higher than the last time Gohan accessed them trough his SSJ2 transformation against Cell, which put him much higher than... well... a SSJ2. The ritual is said to release one's powers beyond their normal limits, so it might be they weren't AS high as that, but still close, I would think.

Well, in the last chapter of the Super manga, Vegeta states that a saiyan stays in his prime till 80, when, I guess, they start rapidly getting older.

Gohan's anger is more of a way for him to unlock the power he has inside him, since in those rage filled moments he lets out everything that he normally suppresses due to a number of factors (lack of training, lack of use to those powers, mental barriers, his pacifist nature etc.)

[Lord Beerus]

Gohan's hidden power is based on how relevant he is to the plot.

[Professor Gohan]

I think Gohan's dormant powers are based on his age and body. When he was a little kid, he already had enough power to contend with people like Zarbon and Dodoria (after Guru's unlock). Then, as he was beaten down and recieved zenkais, his body becoming stronger, his powers grew too as he still had rage boosts after. Then, in the ROSAT he trained his body further and the dormant powers inside him grew as well. Then, as a teen during the Buu arc, he got even closer to the prime of his body (remember that he is like 15) which is why his dormant powers were so great, as they had seven years to build up inside of him. Then, in the Super manga, Vegeta points that Gohan still has huge potential, since, again, the power built up inside him more and more, but, since he hadn't trained at all (unlike in the Buu arc, where he trained for the tournament and with the Z Sword before getting his dormant powers released) his body couldn't handle it. Gohan now is in the prime of his life, so his potential power, imo, is greater now than it's ever been.

To sum it up, Gohan's dormant powers are directly proportional to his body state, which means they will probably peak by the age Goku was when he turned SSJ for the first time (which I think he is at?), and stale or gradually get lower, till he turns 80. His dormant powers, however, don't decide his power, since stuff like training is necessary for him to handle it (similar to SSJ3 Goku). His anger is only a way for them to come out in short bursts.

With that said, do up believe he should "logically" be able to transform onto a SS again, as a result of his reservoirs returning?

[Draconic]

With that said, do up believe he should "logically" be able to transform onto a SS again, as a result of his reservoirs returning?

I think that everytime Gohan gets his dormant powers out, as long as he still trains and gets his body to handle more, there is room for him to still use SSJ, like in GT.
However, if he doesn't train, the powers that he once had will lock themselves in again. At this point, he should use SSJ to get him some of it (being able to access them since he is used to them), however, any boosts larger than what he previously had (due to his constantly rising powers with age) will cause his body to give up on him, like what I think happens in Super.

[MindForgedManacle]

Gohan's hidden power is based on how relevant he is to the plot.

Sure, but then that's true about literally everything in every fiction, so we prefer in-universe explanations where possible (also the forum section).

[Lord Beerus]

Gohan's hidden power is based on how relevant he is to the plot.

Sure, but then that's true about literally everything in every fiction, so we prefer in-universe explanations where possible (also the forum section).

Okay, I'll bite.

I've always seen Gohan's hidden power linked to his emotions, in the fact that whenever he gets angry, that acts as a trigger to release to dormant ki within him and leads to his power spiking.

[Polyphase Avatron]

I always saw his super/mystic form as him fighting with all of that hidden power unleashed, but able to control it while calm.

[MindForgedManacle]

I always saw his super/mystic form as him fighting with all of that hidden power unleashed, but able to control it while calm.

That's how I used to see it. But then again, when he went SS2 for the first time, I'm pretty sure it said he unleashed his hidden power, and yet he still had more for Old Kai to unlock. xD It's probably best to just go with the Daizenshuu 2's statement that his hidden power is limitless. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯