Piccolo's intelligence

[Zephyr]

But Goku's whole point was that Vegeta was wrong in trying to "ascend", and that what he should have been doing was instead mastering the regular form.

I'd say the whole ascension thing should be treated as neutral. Yes Goku learned that just powering up was the wrong way to do things, and mastering the regular form turned out to be the proper way of doing things, but that turned out to be the proper way of ascending. Ascension became a useful staple during for the Cell and Buu fights. Granted, he did go about it the wrong way, which is why this can't be a full positive, but can you really slight the guy for not getting things right on his first try? We can speculate whether or not he would have figured it out or not without Goku, but that would be bringing subjectivity to the analysis.

[Kid Buu]

Wait, on the subject of Vegeta, he tried to blowup the planet when he started losing. When that didn't work, THEN he decided to transform.

What?

[Insertclevername]

Wait, on the subject of Vegeta, he tried to blowup the planet when he started losing. When that didn't work, THEN he decided to transform.

What?

That was probably just his rage making him do impulsive things like that.

[Flame Dragon]

Piccolo plan against Imperfect Cell was pretty smart.
If he managed to destroy both Androids, he would have stopped Cell completely.
If he managed to destroy at least one, then he would have greatly hindered Cell power.

You have to take into account that the Cell that Piccolo faced was a weakling, and Piccolo had no idea how Second Form Cell power would compare to him and the Saiyans.
It was only when Imperfect Cell absorbed all those humans, that his Second Form actually posed a giant threat.

[TheUltimateVegito]

Piccolo plan against Imperfect Cell was pretty smart.
If he managed to destroy both Androids, he would have stopped Cell completely.
If he managed to destroy at least one, then he would have greatly hindered Cell power.

You have to take into account that the Cell that Piccolo faced was a weakling, and Piccolo had no idea how Second Form Cell power would compare to him and the Saiyans.
It was only when Imperfect Cell absorbed all those humans, that his Second Form actually posed a giant threat.

Plus if Piccolo actually killed C#17 Vegeta would've definitely killed Cell and the Androids.

[hulkty]

There's a difference between being an intelligent fighter, and intelligent person.

[mAcChaos]

Piccolo isn't dumb, he just has a value system that's different from someone who prizes practicality above all else. Like a samurai. The Saiyans have this too, but more.

He's considered smart because he's usually the first to perceive something the others don't, and also the best tactician. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have a fighter's pride, just like Goku and Vegeta.

Also he was the one who proposed that Goku and him work together when Raditz came.

He said that Vegeta's plan VS 19 was genius, because as long as 19 had his hands, he could absorb any ki blasts that he threw. Now, it's not stated explicitly, but because he called him a genius, we have to read into it to figure out why he would call him that. Obviously Toriyama put that line there because he wanted to convey Vegeta did something smart. So, Vegeta probably couldn't just take the slow way of beating 19 slowly to a pulp because his SSJ would run out on account of being so untrained. That means he needed to finish the fight relatively fast, so he let 19 get close and grab him so he could rip off his arms. Once that was done, Vegeta was able to blow up 19 with his superior ki reserves.

Then he was able to bluff #20 into running away.

And that's why Piccolo called him a genius.

[RandomGuy96]

Piccolo plan against Imperfect Cell was pretty smart.
If he managed to destroy both Androids, he would have stopped Cell completely.
If he managed to destroy at least one, then he would have greatly hindered Cell power.

In the absolute best case scenario, he takes one out (barely) and gets killed by the other two. From there, Cell is free to do whatever he wants. Lack of completion won't change anything, he's still strong enough to godstomp everyone (Vegeta and Trunks can beat him post-ROSAT, but Piccolo didn't know that, and actually states that he doesn't think anyone can possibly beat Semi-Cell). All Piccolo would accomplish is destroying the Dragon Balls, getting himself killed, and making Cell's job easier. He had to know at the very least that Cell would find them. Which is exactly what happened.

That was probably just his rage making him do impulsive things like that.

It's possible he never intended to destroy the planet in the first place, and was just saying that so Goku would have to take it to the face rather than dodge it.

You have to take into account that the Cell that Piccolo faced was a weakling, and Piccolo had no idea how Second Form Cell power would compare to him and the Saiyans.
It was only when Imperfect Cell absorbed all those humans, that his Second Form actually posed a giant threat.

Initial Imperfect Cell wasn't that weak, actually, and was just becoming stronger and stronger.

There's a difference between being an intelligent fighter, and intelligent person.

Piccolo doesn't appear to be either.

[Michsi]

Vegeta and Trunks can beat him post-ROSAT, but Piccolo didn't know that, and actually states that he doesn't think anyone can possibly beat Semi-Cell

I can't look it up right now, but I seem to remember him hoping that they could become stronger or at least had enough faith in Goku to pull it off after the training . And destroying one of the androids became the only option when he he had no other choice (when they came looking.) Before that, he and the others focused on tracking down Cell who at first was an easier and safer target.