Techniques that characters knows but doesn't use at all

[super michael]

I am creating this thread so members can list techniques that characters know but they don't use for whatever reason.

Piccolo and Tien both knows the Mafuba, but they never use it in battle at all. Piccolo used the reserve Mafuba against Kami and then he fused with Kami to grain all his knowledge and skills.

Piccolo fusion dance, he knows the fusion dance and he was the one who taught Goten, Trunks and Vegeta how to fuse. Yet for some reason he never fuse with anyone.

[Polyphase Avatron]

King Kai and the Genki Dama and Kaio-Ken.

[omaro34]

Piccolo turning giant

he did it once against Goku in Dragonball but never did it again

Would have loved to see a Giant Ape vs Giant Namekian showdown

[FoolsGil]

I'm not sure if Krillin would go on this list or not, because while he has never shown to pull ki from Earth or the Sun, he was able to create a genki dama on the fly with the energy Goku didn't lose. He's at least capable of the 2nd half of the genki dama, but didn't attempt to learn the first half, or even try and use his own energy to create his own version.

[LoganForkHands73]

There seems to be contradictory information regarding whether or not Vegeta and Goku can retain knowledge of each other's techniques after fusing. In the Super manga, Vegeta uses Vegetto's Spirit Sword to tether himself back onto the ToP stage but then he needed to go to Yardrat to learn Teleportation. At the very least, I'd expect Vegeta to be able to do easier stuff like the Kamehameha, but who needs it when you already have a Garlic Gun, ya know?

Piccolo's Makankosappo was meant to be done with two hands, yet the closest we see to him doing that is during his fight with Nappa in the manga, but he doesn't charge or call it out so it's easy to miss. I guess Piccolo realised that a narrower beam makes the characteristic drilling effect more potent.

Zamasu doesn't use many typical Kai techniques like matter materialisation, paralysis or healing in the anime. Toyotaro's manga at least fixed that, there he's chucking Kachinko blocks like rotten tomatoes.

[Yuli Ban]

Son Goku knows the taiyōken, but after blinding Vegeta, he never uses it again until the Tournament of Power for a single chance to stun Caulifla (whom he was essentially sparring with to gauge her strength and fighting prowess), and then again against Oozaru Baby for something more fitting (as in, actually trying to survive). Such a technique would have come in incredibly useful at so many other points. In fact, not just him but just about anyone who can use it. I know Krillin uses it to escape Dodoria and Freeza, but that's about as far as he takes it. This could've been used against Nappa, against the Ginyu Force, to buy a bit more time for Goku to charge the Genki Dama without pushing Piccolo further to the brink, aaaand that's really the last honest instance it could've made sense in a battle. Until Cell used it against them for precisely the same benefits I'm mentioning now.

I mean I know why Goku doesn't spam it. He's a battle-monkey who wants to fight. But why the others never used it more offensively is a bit more of a hard sell.

This isn't exactly "doesn't use at all" since they've used it several times in the shows as much as it is "incredibly underutilized."

The Taiyōken is an overpowered stun move because just about every character in the series still has some physiological limits when caught off guard, limits that are never really utilized all that much either. I mean we have Goku getting Murasaki to ram the Power Pole up his ass and Vegeta blinding Zarbon with a little bit of dirt, never mind the crunchiest moment in the entire show that came out of nowhere and has always led me to believe that Android 13 is sexually sadistic.

But really, blinding someone with eyes is a good way to stun them long enough to either deliver an effective counterattack or just hide away. The taiyōken + kienzan double has long been bandied as an unstoppable combination but a taiyōken + any other attack ought to be an arc-killer. The only reason why characters didn't spam it is because then the comic would end.

[ABED]

It's a relatively simple technique and if it's overused, people will catch on.

[SupremeKai25]

I'd say Kaioken for Goku Black. There's really no reason why Black couldn't use Kaioken. He seemed to have extensive knowledge of all of Goku's abilities, techniques, memories, he would have seen him training with King Kai, he would've sensed this power within his body. As well, it would have been very fitting to see Black use Kaioken because Kaioken is a move invented by a Kai, the North Kai of U7, and Goku Black (aka Zamasu) used to be the North Kai of U10. It would have been a good story connection. The move invented by the North Kai of U7, reused and brought to the next level by the North Kai of U10.

Instead Fused Zamasu actually seemed surprised when he saw Kaioken, did he not know what that move was? Did Black not have extensive knowledge of Goku's abilities and memories? What happened? Plot happened. I'm pretty sure Black with Kaioken would have annihilated everyone in less than 1 minute LOL.

Zamasu doesn't use many typical Kai techniques like matter materialisation, paralysis or healing in the anime. Toyotaro's manga at least fixed that, there he's chucking Kachinko blocks like rotten tomatoes.

Makes sense. Zamasu despises the other Kais as failures, it makes sense that he would refuse to use their puny little attacks, and settle for techniques of his own invention instead. Hence why Fused Zamasu created so many techniques.

[LoganForkHands73]

Zamasu doesn't use many typical Kai techniques like matter materialisation, paralysis or healing in the anime. Toyotaro's manga at least fixed that, there he's chucking Kachinko blocks like rotten tomatoes.

Makes sense. Zamasu despises the other Kais as failures, it makes sense that he would refuse to use their puny little attacks, and settle for techniques of his own invention instead. Hence why Fused Zamasu created so many techniques.

Uh-huh...

[WittyUsername]

Cell supposedly knows the Genki Dama, but he never uses it outside of some of the games, where it’s his ultimate attack, for some reason. Come to think of it, by that same token, he should also know the Kaioken, but he never uses that.

[SupremeKai25]

Zamasu doesn't use many typical Kai techniques like matter materialisation, paralysis or healing in the anime. Toyotaro's manga at least fixed that, there he's chucking Kachinko blocks like rotten tomatoes.

Makes sense. Zamasu despises the other Kais as failures, it makes sense that he would refuse to use their puny little attacks, and settle for techniques of his own invention instead. Hence why Fused Zamasu created so many techniques.

Uh-huh...

What about this is not clear to you?

[WittyUsername]

Slightly unrelated to the main topic, but I wish that the Dragon Fist would be used in Super. I know the technique is “non-canon”, but they’ve already borrowed a number of other things from the movies and GT, so why not that? It’s one of the most inventive attacks in the series. Hell, during the ToP, they even borrowed the whole “Goku can’t use the Genki Dama when he’s a Super Saiyan” shtick from Movie 7, for no apparent reason.

[Neo-Makaiōshin]

Cell supposedly knows the Genki Dama, but he never uses it outside of some of the games, where it’s his ultimate attack, for some reason. Come to think of it, by that same token, he should also know the Kaioken, but he never uses that.

Him not using the Genki Dama could be explained by twi things:

1) The user must be of "pure heart" to manipulate and gather energy in the first place.

2) Even if Cell somehow met the above criteria, the technique still takes time to charge and leaves him vulnerable to attacks.

[TheSaiyanGod]

There seems to be contradictory information regarding whether or not Vegeta and Goku can retain knowledge of each other's techniques after fusing. In the Super manga, Vegeta uses Vegetto's Spirit Sword to tether himself back onto the ToP stage but then he needed to go to Yardrat to learn Teleportation. At the very least, I'd expect Vegeta to be able to do easier stuff like the Kamehameha, but who needs it when you already have a Garlic Gun, ya know?

Yeah, Vegeta got the knowledge about Completed Super Saiyan Blue but not how to use it after merging with Goku in the Future Trunks arc. Honestly I just assume that either Vegeta already knew how to use the Ki sword, or just like he did in the Saiyan arc with Krillin's Kienzan, these manipulations of the Ki shape are easily reproducible (to a certain extent)

[LoganForkHands73]

There seems to be contradictory information regarding whether or not Vegeta and Goku can retain knowledge of each other's techniques after fusing. In the Super manga, Vegeta uses Vegetto's Spirit Sword to tether himself back onto the ToP stage but then he needed to go to Yardrat to learn Teleportation. At the very least, I'd expect Vegeta to be able to do easier stuff like the Kamehameha, but who needs it when you already have a Garlic Gun, ya know?

Yeah, Vegeta got the knowledge about Completed Super Saiyan Blue but not how to use it after merging with Goku in the Future Trunks arc. Honestly I just assume that either Vegeta already knew how to use the Ki sword, or just like he did in the Saiyan arc with Krillin's Kienzan, these manipulations of the Ki shape are easily reproducible (to a certain extent)

I like to imagine that for the fusees, what happens while fused is a blur to remember. Goku and Vegeta can vaguely remember doing stuff as Vegetto and Gogeta but their thoughts and memories get swirled around. But yeah, Ki blades probably aren't that difficult to reproduce though I wonder why Vegetto has such an affection for them while Goku and Vegeta so rarely use them while unfused?...

What about this is not clear to you?

Nah-nah, nothing's unclear, I was just unsurprised that you chipped in, it's like you have an uncanny Zamasu-Sense... In all seriousness, that probably is just a difference in interpretation between the anime and manga. Anime Zamasu was more powerful and independent, whereas Manga Zamasu was explicitly weaker and needed to rely on his innate Kai abilities to get anywhere. I personally quite liked seeing Manga Zamasu use some Kai techniques in an offensive capacity.

[SupremeKai25]

Nah-nah, nothing's unclear, I was just unsurprised that you chipped in, it's like you have an uncanny Zamasu-Sense... In all seriousness, that probably is just a difference in interpretation between the anime and manga. Anime Zamasu was more powerful and independent, whereas Manga Zamasu was explicitly weaker and needed to rely on his innate Kai abilities to get anywhere. I personally quite liked seeing Manga Zamasu use some Kai techniques in an offensive capacity.

Well unsurprisingly I also came into this thread to talk about Zamasu, specifically about how Goku Black should have known about Kaioken.

And the Spirit Bomb... depending on how literally you want to take Gowasu's statements about Zamasu being pure of heart.

[Koitsukai]

I always wanted Goku to use the small genki dama, you know the one vs Vegeta, that he created and contained in his fist, similar to what is seen in the opening. A not-so-serious genki dama, maybe only to injure or deplete the enemy, not as destructive as a full one but not as time-consuming to create. I guess they went with an all-or-nothing approach about it.
Besides vs Hirudegan and Aniraza I don't know when he could've used it, I guess I just like the "genki-punch" we've also seen in videogames.

About post-fusion learnings, I think, for instance, Vegeta might've gotten a clue of what Goku had in store, but he needed time to fully grasp it to pull it off, instead of just being able to do it. Although, his main issue at the moment was being battered, maybe he could've gone PB if his health had been restored, or not at all.

Well unsurprisingly I also came into this thread to talk about Zamasu, specifically about how Goku Black should have known about Kaioken.

And the Spirit Bomb... depending on how literally you want to take Gowasu's statements about Zamasu being pure of heart.

Your nickname might as well be Gowasu with all the Zamasu talk

I agree Black should've known about kaioken (or Future Zamasu could've used it, and ON all the time with his immortality), that was a missed opportunity. Fighting against the first big technique Goku ever got. You could read it the other way around and say they did think about it, and this way it shows Goku's superior creativity when it comes to "building muscle". Maybe Black didn't even think about mixing the techniques.

Genki Dama... not so much. We don't know how it really works the being pure of heart thing, I guess some sort of connection with these living beings has to be created for them to "let" you take their lifeforce -humans refused to do it vs Buu, after all. Zamasu's aura speaks for the character, I doubt he'd get that "permission" from plants and birds. But again, what do I know about how this actually works?

[TheSaiyanGod]

But yeah, Ki blades probably aren't that difficult to reproduce though I wonder why Vegetto has such an affection for them while Goku and Vegeta so rarely use them while unfused?...

I think it is to try to maintain this ability as unique to Vegetto. Although his Ki sword was used only once in the original manga, at this point with all the games and promotional materials related to the franchise having been released, this ability became his trademark (next to the Final Kamehameha). But yeah, probably Goku could use it too, but it doesn't seem to fit his Stylus

Although, his main issue at the moment was being battered, maybe he could've gone PB if his health had been restored, or not at all.

He asks Trunks to heal Goku instead of him saying that he was the only one capable of facing Zamasu because he knew Goku was able to use the completed Super Saiyan Blue. To be fair, considering the risk of using this form when it was first introduced, Vegeta would probably need training regardless of his knowledge anyway, while Goku probably already had a better sense of how to use this method
But either way, knowledge seems to be all that fusees share