Range of the Dragon Radar?

[Bussani]

Technically we do. When Piccolo Daimao kills Shenlong, the balls simply fall to the ground, similar to what we later see when Saichorou dies. So I always assumed the Namekian dragonballs disperse.

Same here.

Well, there's an easy way to solve this. When Dende makes the last wish to teleport everyone but Goku and Freeza to earth, what happens to the balls?

The balls fly into the sky and disappear. They're next seen landing on Earth, supposedly having followed the Elder all the way there. So unfortunately, that doesn't really solve anything, either.

[Gaffer Tape]

Actually, it might. Do the balls fly away in a group, or do they scatter in all directions like we see the Earth DBs do?

[the_abberration]

Actually, it might. Do the balls fly away in a group, or do they scatter in all directions like we see the Earth DBs do?

[Bussani]

I still say that's inconclusive. Dragon balls flying straight up into space and all the way to another planet is a very special circumstance.

[Perfect]

They had their feelings hurt by Freeza, so they left the planet. They only scatter if they're feeling good about themselves.

[the_abberration]

I still say that's inconclusive. Dragon balls flying straight up into space and all the way to another planet is a very special circumstance.

When they revive Krillin and Yamcha and then Tien and Chiaotzu, the dragon appears in the exact same spot in both instances. If the balls did not disperse and were unmoved, I can see that happening. If they did disperse, then they really played the odds in placing the balls in the same exact spot 130 days later.

[Bussani]

Or it's just because Toriyama reused the same panel.

[the_abberration]

I still say that's inconclusive. Dragon balls flying straight up into space and all the way to another planet is a very special circumstance.

They would not need to have followed Guru though. Guru could have passed leadership over and Miri could have made dragonballs in 100 days. Instead of waiting the extra 30 for the other ones to recharge.

[Bussani]

They would not need to have followed Guru though.

But...they did follow? I don't get your point.

[the_abberration]

But...they did follow? I don't get your point.

It served no purpose for the balls to follow Guru. They could have dispersed on Namek, and it wouldn't have changed anything. The only reason they would follow Guru, is because they stay near the Elder after being used regardless. Since Miri can make the dragonballs from scartch in 100 days, it would actually be faster than waiting 130 days for the balls that did follow Guru to recharge. With that being the case, the need for the balls to follow Guru (other than that is what they normally would do), is moot from both a plot point and in-story necessity.

On the other hand, if passing the ability to Miri had caused the dragonballs to activate right then and there for instance, then having them follow as a special circumstance would make sense. In DB, Kami was able to make an exception and break the year rule after Diamao destroyed Shenron. During the Cell arc, when Goku brought him and he took over as the new Kami, Dende was able to activate the dragonballs on Earth right away. Mainly, because he used the dragonballs already on Earth.

So reasonably speaking, passing the torch to a new elder should have allowed him to reactivate the Namek balls, instead of waiting for them to recharge. Otherwise, Guru could have appointed Miri as Elder and he could have made his own dragonballs.

[Gaffer Tape]

That's all well and good and possible... but that's not what happened. They DID wait 130 days, so they did use the already existing DBs.

Since the manga only shows the balls rise up into the sky, I agree with Bussani that it's all inconclusive. Since we never see what normally happens to the Namekian balls when a wishing session is concluded, we'll just have to chalk this up to something we'll never know for sure.

[the_abberration]

That's all well and good and possible... but that's not what happened. They DID wait 130 days, so they did use the already existing DBs.

Since the manga only shows the balls rise up into the sky, I agree with Bussani that it's all inconclusive. Since we never see what normally happens to the Namekian balls when a wishing session is concluded, we'll just have to chalk this up to something we'll never know for sure.

I understand that's not what happened in the manga. But I don't see how my point is inconclusive. I just supported my theory to Puto's point earlier about weather or not the Namek balls disperse after use like the Earth balls do.

The fact that the Earth dragonballs disperse after the wish was granted, and the Namek dragonballs followed Guru after their use proves they don't behave the same. If the Namek balls operated the same, they would have dispersed across Namek after use like the Earth dragonballs do on Earth. You can't say they would do the same thing when you can look and see that they don't.

[Bussani]

Maybe the Earth dragon balls would follow Kami if he moved to another planet, too. The fact that we don't know for sure is what makes it inconclusive.

[the_abberration]

Maybe the Earth dragon balls would follow Kami if he moved to another planet, too. The fact that we don't know for sure is what makes it inconclusive.

Then they would have moved to Namek when Piccolo came back to life. Or at least some of them anyway.

And in GT they leave the planet after use.

[Gaffer Tape]

But, again, the Grand Elder leaving the planet and settling on another one after dying and coming back to life is not a common occurrence, so you can't automatically assume that that's natural behavior for them.

[the_abberration]

But, again, the Grand Elder leaving the planet and settling on another one after dying and coming back to life is not a common occurrence, so you can't automatically assume that that's natural behavior for them.

So if the Namek dragonballs don't gather near the Elder after use regardless, then for what reason would you say the dragonballs followed Guru to Earth?

There were no special circumstances. Nothing hinged on those particular balls making a conscious decision to follow Guru instead of dispersing. And how could they make a concious decision to change the way they behave in the first place?

And Piccolo was still on Namek when they used the Earth dragonballs to wish everyone back to life. So at least some of them would have went to Namek afterward.

[Gaffer Tape]

Because the Grand Elder left the planet. Extreme circumstances lead to extreme responses, and all we ever see are extreme circumstances.

I'm not saying what you're arguing isn't possible. There simply isn't anything conclusive to support it. As far as I know, no guidebook, no daizenshuu has anything to say on this particular matter, so neither of us can prove anything.

[the_abberration]

Because the Grand Elder left the planet. Extreme circumstances lead to extreme responses, and all we ever see are extreme circumstances.

I'm not saying what you're arguing isn't possible. There simply isn't anything conclusive to support it. As far as I know, no guidebook, no daizenshuu has anything to say on this particular matter, so neither of us can prove anything.

That's the thing. There were no extreme circumstances. Nothing hinged on those particular balls making a conscious decision to follow Guru instead of dispersing. And how could they make a concious decision to change the way they behave in the first place? For this point to be valid, you're saying that due to extreme circumstances, that seven rocks chose to do something totally different from their normal behavior.

What exactly was so extreme that the only resolution, were for the Namek balls to travel to Earth when they would be inactive for 130 days? If there were extreme circumstances, then the only thing they could do would be to make new balls from scratch. Because it would be the fastest solution.

The only thing that mattered was granting the wish and Guru being alive long enough to pass the torch to Miri. And not everything has to be proven with a guidebook etc. Isn't that the point of this forum? To provide a plausible and reasonble in-story answer to a question that cannot be found in the source material? a lot of questions here have been resolved mainly because they were not in the guidebooks to begin with.

Case in point. When the Nameks wished for another planet, there were no extreme circumstances. Yet the balls went with them. Under normal circumstances, the balls would have disperesed after they wished for another planet to go to, and Miri would have to make a new set of balls. IF they worked like the Earth balls. But they follow the Elder, because that's how the Namek balls work.

[Gaffer Tape]

We can debate it. But without any canonical backing, we can't PROVE it. Sure, we can provide logical deductions, reasonable assertions, but without solid facts, there's really nothing but a bunch of nerds yelling at each other.

I never said the balls were sentient and made any kind of conscious decision, and that's not what I was thinking, but, now that you mention it, who's to say they didn't? Just like everything else in this argument, it's all circumstantial evidence.

I believe the way I do because, since the Namekian balls (in real life) are derivative of the original balls, unless they're shown in some way to differ from them, I assume they work the same. And in most cases, that is true. There are seven of them. Each ball has a corresponding number of stars in them. A dragon comes out of them. They cause the sky to darken. They grant wishes. After use, they are inert for their home planet's length of a year. They are tied to the life force of their creator. If the wish-making is interrupted, the dragon disappears and the balls fall to the ground, inert. These are all things that are conclusively demonstrated to be the same. As for differences, we have size, number of wishes, and a few technicalities about what wishes can or can't be made. Those are pretty much ALL the facts we have. Most other things are speculation and must be treated as such.

For example, we know that Porunga must be summoned in the Namekian tongue. Does Shenlong have to be summoned in the Earthling tongue? Well, you might ASSUME that because one set of balls requires a native tongue (wow, that really didn't come out right), that the other set does too. But who the hell knows? And it's the same here. Nothing that could be considered "normal" ever happens with the Namekian DBs that we ever see. The Grand Elder dies partway through the wish-granting, so the balls are rendered inert. Right before the wish-granting is concluded, the Grand Elder is whisked away to, not just another planet, not just another solar system, but to another galaxy. I doubt that's ever happened before.

Whoah. There was somewhere else I was going with this, but it's 2:30 in the morning, and... as soon as I finished this paragraph, my mind went numb. I'll finish this in the morning. But in the meantime, I think this giant wall of text is valuable enough.

[the_abberration]

We can debate it. But without any canonical backing, we can't PROVE it.

Okay I'll make this simple.

Actually, it might. Do the balls fly away in a group, or do they scatter in all directions like we see the Earth DBs do?

I believe the way I do because, since the Namekian balls (in real life) are derivative of the original balls, unless they're shown in some way to differ from them, I assume they work the same.

Okay, I just showed you. In one panel, they make their wish on the Earth dragonballs then the balls disperse.
In the other panel, the Namek balls after granting the third wish, leave as a group (and end up landing on Earth together near the Elder).

I've provided proof that can be backed up by the manga. Without providing anything other than stating The Namek balls don't diperse after use. I can show it. Your counter falls on deduction as to why they follow Guru. So how am I not providing solid facts?

For example, we know that Porunga must be summoned in the Namekian tongue. Does Shenlong have to be summoned in the Earthling tongue? Well, you might ASSUME that because one set of balls requires a native tongue (wow, that really didn't come out right), that the other set does too. But who the hell knows? And it's the same here.

I know because, we are shown that the Earth balls respond to the native tongue (that everyone seems to know). If it didn't, only Dende would be able to make wishes for them.

Nothing that could be considered "normal" ever happens with the Namekian DBs that we ever see. The Grand Elder dies partway through the wish-granting, so the balls are rendered inert. Right before the wish-granting is concluded, the Grand Elder is whisked away to, not just another planet, not just another solar system, but to another galaxy. I doubt that's ever happened before.

And Piccolo was wished back to Namek. He is whisked away to, not just another planet, not just another solar system, but to another galaxy. So it happened before, and guess what? The Earth dragonballs still reacted the same as they normally do.

You're right, we can debate this for days. But we are shown not once, but twice what the Namek balls do after their wishes are granted. I understand your side, but you are implying/deducing/concluding there is a reason why the balls act differently. I feel on the other hand that without saying a word, I can take the manga and show you the differences (which I did). And the only time we see the Namek balls disperse after use, is anime filler