Goku's children have more potential than Vegeta's

[DBZAOTA482]

Despite being born pathetically weak by Saiyan standards, Goku's kids seem to have the edge on the gene pool.

It's well established Gohan has more potential than any other fighter in Dragon Ball despite his treatment in modern stories.

Goten is almost as strong as Trunks despite being trained by Chi-Chi, who is strong but not very effective for someone comparable to Vegeta or Piccolo.

Spoiler:

Certainly a product of being born to two of the strongest people on Earth.

[super michael]

I can imagine if Goten is allowed to train with the best, such as Goku, Vegeta and Whis, then he would be the strongest in the Z fighters.

Trunks potential is nothing to sneeze at, his potential is big.

[Ashur]

It should also be noted that Pan easily surpassed both Goten and Trunks by the age of 3, she is clearly the one with the highest potential out of all the half-saiyans.

Where is the source on Gohan's potential surpassing Goten and Trunks' though? From what is on the show, it is made clear that those two were about to surpass Gohan in spite of having much less serious training under their belts, and have transformed into SSJ with much less effort, Gohan had to train with Goku in the time chamber and have an existential crisis to reach SSJ, yet Goten and Trunks could do it on a whim without preparation or extreme circumstances.

Also the future version of Trunks reached the rage boost that allowed him to fight on similar levels to Goku and Vegeta in SSB, something Gohan only reached after unlocking his Ultimate form again (something he originally had to do a ritual to fully unlock it first, something Trunks hasn't done) and training with Piccolo, Gohan needed far more preparation and boosts to reach that level, i believe that, had Trunks done the Kaioshin ritual before, he would be stronger than Gohan even if Gohan kept training after the ritual.

[super michael]

Goku children seems more intelligent than Vegeta children. This is weird seeing that Goku and his wife are not exactly that smart, while Vegeta and Bulma are smart people.

Bulma was able to build many devices as a teenager, while Chi Chi is a strong fighter.

Gohan got brain and power. As for Goten he is neither brain or power, he is nothing and the same applies to Trunks.
Bra is a huge unknown at this point in time.

[GreatSaiyaman123]

When the Boo Saga started Vegeta had just started to train Trunks, so before that the only person he had to train was Goten himself. Trunks’ advantage could be attributed to being a year older though.

I’d say both are more gifted than Gohan since they were almost as strong as him. Their lack of tails also indicates superior potential. They just haven’t been allowed to train as much.

Future Trunks sort of is the odd one out, but I think the oppressive ambient he grew up in stunted his S-Cells growth.

[DBZAOTA482]

When the Boo Saga started Vegeta had just started to train Trunks, so before that the only person he had to train was Goten himself. Trunks’ advantage could be attributed to being a year older though.

I’d say both are more gifted than Gohan since they were almost as strong as him. Their lack of tails also indicates superior potential. They just haven’t been allowed to train as much.

Future Trunks sort of is the odd one out, but I think the oppressive ambient he grew up in stunted his S-Cells growth.

But Trunks knew how to fly so I doubt they "just started".

[super michael]

When the Boo Saga started Vegeta had just started to train Trunks, so before that the only person he had to train was Goten himself. Trunks’ advantage could be attributed to being a year older though.

I’d say both are more gifted than Gohan since they were almost as strong as him. Their lack of tails also indicates superior potential. They just haven’t been allowed to train as much.

Future Trunks sort of is the odd one out, but I think the oppressive ambient he grew up in stunted his S-Cells growth.

Trunks was training in the Gravity Room with Vegeta before anyone even though about the Tournament. Bulma says this:

"I bet Vegeta's whipping him into shape in the gravity room.
He says Trunks is old enough to get serious about training. I think he wants to make him stronger than you know."

We see Trunks all sweating from his training. Trunks says he was training with Vegeta.

This is before Gohan becomes the Great Saiyanman.

[Koitsukai]

I guess, if the S-cells are that relevant, then Goten is the one with the most potential. He was conceived by a guy with a lot of S-cells, unlike Gohan.
Nobody knows if Trunks was conceived after Geets unlocked SS, but that would explain his power in the FT arc, and his present self being ahead of Goten, literally conceived by a SS. Aside of being one year older.

Pan also has great potential, maybe being conceived by a Gohan with all of his power unlocked played a big part.

Bra should have the greatest potential of all, she was conceived by a guy with two god forms on his back.

[Izanagi]

Personally, I think it's because of Chi-Chi that Goku's descendants are superior to Vegeta's. She’s not an uber fighter, but she is highly trained and presumably stays in shape. Bulma doesn't fight physically, she fights intelligently if she fights at all. So Chi-Chi being a warrior (or at least training for it) for the majority of her childhood probably had some effect on their potential.

[Lionel]

Izanagi raises a good point about the genetic profile of the mother, not just the father. Chi-Chi's father, the Ox-King, is based off Niumowang from Journey to the West who was a demon king. Bulma seems to be inspired by the Buddhist monk, Tang Sanzang, who received the protection of entities that are mirrored in Goku, Oolong, and Puar. The symbolism there would help to explain why Goku's children have more potential.

If you want another possible explanation then the age of the mother could be a factor. Believe it or not there have been studies conducted that the parental age of the parents can impact the health of a child. Higher chances of defects and low birth weight are possibilities. Something about paternal age also can have an impact on a child's mental cognitive ability according to some studies. How old are Bulma and Vegeta when they had Trunks? 30s? Granted Chi-Chi was around that same age when she had Goten. It's unlikely that Toriyama was considering any of this when writing for Gohan and the other Saiyan hybrids, though.

[BWri]

Gohan also had his potential unleashed several times whereas Goten and Trunks have not. Perhaps if Saichorou had lived, he could have helped them surpass Gohan.

That said, I still think there's something about Gohan specifically that is special. Maybe he is the reincarnation of some powerful being.

[super michael]

Gohan also had his potential unleashed several times whereas Goten and Trunks have not. Perhaps if Saichorou had lived, he could have helped them surpass Gohan.

That said, I still think there's something about Gohan specifically that is special. Maybe he is the reincarnation of some powerful being.

Lets not forget Gohan had 3 years to train with Piccolo and Goku, who are masters at martial arts. Then Gohan had the ROSAT with Goku to train. Without those factors, Gohan wouldn't be strong like he was in the Cell Game and Buu Saga.

Goten in the Buu Saga is stronger than Future Gohan.

[SupremeKai25]

Goku himself has more potential than Vegeta and could possibly be the Saiyan with the most potential ever, so this is hardly surprising.

[Atr]

That said, I still think there's something about Gohan specifically that is special. Maybe he is the reincarnation of some powerful being.

This is how I see it too, especially in regards to his rage-boosts and Toriyama's recent interview of referring to them as a "beast within him" being awakened. No other character in the series has done the leaps in power Gohan has done whenever he gets mad, including Goten and Trunks with all their potential. Goku is right when he says nobody stands a chance against Gohan when he's angry.