Kid Trunks' blast at #18

[ahill1]

What did kid Trunks mean by "doing it appropriately"? Could it been at kid Trunks SSJ power and the "do it apporpriately", "not do it at full force" just mean he wouldn't amplify it to above his power? Like:

Kid Trunks SSJ : 10
~Blast (not at full force) : 10
~Blast (full force) : 15

[dragonball0900]

What Trunks meant there was that he needed to hold back in order to not kill Android 18. If he did it inappropriately, at full power, then he could've killed Android 18. That's because Trunks and Goten as SSJ are way above Android 18 in strenght.

[Generico Garbagio]

That's because Trunks and Goten as SSJ are way above Android 18 in strenght.

Wat. Really?

[dbgtFO]

That's because Trunks and Goten as SSJ are way above Android 18 in strenght.

Wat. Really?

That's the implication, yes.
However in classic Toriyama fashion we were not given a blatant confirmation of the kids' power compared to anyone else, which is why it's a debatable topic.

[Generico Garbagio]

That's the implication, yes.
However in classic Toriyama fashion we were not given a blatant confirmation of the kids' power compared to anyone else, which is why it's a debatable topic.

So Kid Trunks and Goten would be stronger than Vegeta when he fought 18? Or 18 just became laughably weaker after Cell Saga? That seems weird because even if she doesn't train, it's not like she trained when she was deactivated in her pod in Gero's lab before he activated her.

[dbgtFO]

That's the implication, yes.
However in classic Toriyama fashion we were not given a blatant confirmation of the kids' power compared to anyone else, which is why it's a debatable topic.

So Kid Trunks and Goten would be stronger than Vegeta when he fought 18? Or 18 just became laughably weaker after Cell Saga? That seems weird because even if she doesn't train, it's not like she trained when she was deactivated in her pod in Gero's lab before he activated her.

Yeah, first option, that's also why she was so flabbergasted, that they could be so outrageously strong.

[dragonball0900]

So Kid Trunks and Goten would be stronger than Vegeta when he fought 18? Or 18 just became laughably weaker after Cell Saga? That seems weird because even if she doesn't train, it's not like she trained when she was deactivated in her pod in Gero's lab before he activated her.

Basically the first option. Believe it or not, but the truth is that the kids are implied to be way stronger than Android 18, which means that they are also way way stronger than the saiyans from the Android arc, and even way way stronger than Frieza.

[ahill1]

That's the implication, yes.

What about what I suggested in the OP? Can it hold true?

[Generico Garbagio]

Omgwtf! Those kids are OP! Someone should put them in a tournament.

[Rubens]

[spoiler]

Chapter: 453 (DBZ 259), P8.4, P9.1-7
Context: as Trunks and Goten fight No.18 in their Mighty Mask costume
Trunks: “Da-dammit! We can’t win like this!”
Goten: “Let’s turn into Super Saiyans, Trunks!”
Trunks: “That's it! We’ve got this thing on, so she won’t be able to tell who we are…Alright! Shall we turn into [Super Saiyans]?”
Goten: “Yeah!”
No.18: “…He really is a weird bastard…His arms and legs are extremely small for his body…And he’s so unusually strong…”
*they become Super Saiyans*
No.18: “!!”
Trunks: “Either way, we’re at a disadvantage in this getup, so we’ve got no choice but to settle this with a kiai cannon!”
Goten: “Eh! But will she be alright?...”
Trunks: “Don’t worry, she won’t die if we do it appropriately. She’s No.18…”

Chapter: 453 (DBZ 259), P10.1-2
Context: as Trunks prepares to fire a ki blast at No.18
No.18: “…I see…Super Saiyan, huh?...I finally know your identity, boys…”
Goten: “Don’t do it at full force!”
Trunks: “I know, I know!”

Chapter: 453 (DBZ 259), P12.4, P13.1
Context: after Trunks’ ki blast explodes
No.18: “Yo-you’ve got to be kidding…That energy bullet had absolutely incredible speed and destructive power…Co-could it be that those squirts have outrageous power?…This is dangerous! I’ve got to settle this fight soon!”

[/spoiler]
My interpretation is that, as super saiyans, Goten and Trunks would be strong enough to beat #18 fighting as a pair but their costume was getting in the way. It's questionable whether they could beat her individually or not, althought I believe they couldn't; back when Vegeta fought #18, it's possible he would be able to beat her if he had Goku's help (despite that probably that he wouldn't take it). Since they couldn't remove to costume, the only way to win the fight was by resorting to ki blasts: I also believe that Trunks by saying "properly" meant "holding back", specially because Goten later tells him not to "do it at full force". Hypothetically speaking, even if Trunks is weaker than #18, his blast at "full force" could potentially hurt or even kill her (in a similar situation, Vegeta was much weaker than Cell and yet his "Final Flash" nearly killed it) so holding back was safer, even if she could eventually survive his attack at "full force". It just wasn't worth the risk I suppose.