Goku's Worst Dragon Ball Moments

Dragon Ball depicts Goku's journey to find the seven Dragon Balls. If someone asked us to make a Dragon Ball summary, that'd be it. It is an anime about Goku and his search for these balls. We're sure you have heard about DB before, so you probably know what comes next.

These orbs have the ability to summon Super Shenron, a strong dragon that can make their greatest wishes come true. Goku, like many others, seeks them out to make his wishes come true.

As Dragon Ball progresses, Goku has to fight different enemies and villains on his path to obtain the Dragon Balls. Goku is famously invincible, and for the most part, this is true. We're sure you have seen lots of Goku's best moments. But what about Goku at his worst? It's rare when Goku loses, but it does happen. He is a terrific opponent. Even with all the training he has, there are some creatures he cannot defeat. 

Since it is a shonen anime, defeat is also meaningful because it teaches Goku valuable lessons. In any case, Goku can defeat most of his enemies and has done so many times. However, today we will talk about all the times Goku was defeated.

When Vegeta was defeated by three men (because it was impossible to do it with less than that)

Goku is perhaps one of the most potent and skilled characters of all time. This is somewhat because he is a Saiyan, but he has also undergone intense training. Still, he has never defeated Vegeta. I see you, hardcore Dragon Ball fan. You may say that Goku has done that. If you think about it clearly, it hasn't been that way. His fight was either interrupted or required outside help.

When the Saiyan Saga started, Goku contested Vegeta just so he could prove that he could be defeated if he was well trained. Apparently, Goku was feeling very confident that he could win. We think he forgot all the years of training and upbringing that Vegeta had when he was young. We aren't talking about any crazy martial arts practitioner. We are talking about a Prince from Planet Vegeta that was expected to kill entire civilizations when he was little. But we get it: Goku's intelligence was never his forte. (Goku, we love you, but you are what today's Gen Z generation likes to call a himbo).

When the battle began, he realized how strong Vegeta was and had to use special moves to match his strength. Gohan, Krillin, and Yajirobe contributed to Goku's victory, so it doesn't really count as a complete victory by Goku's own powers. We think Vegeta defeated him in that way.

When Tao Pai tried to kill Son Goku

Goku fought furiously against Tao Pai. Goku was more powerful than Tao's previous enemies, but when talking about strength, Goku was severely inferior. The imbalance was so notable that Tao attacked with his Dodon Ray. This iconic technique could have killed Goku.

And the worst part of this occasion is that the thing that saved Goku was Tao Pai's fault. And we will explain it to you.

Fortunately, Tao took three of the four dragon balls. He also left one that ended up being in Goku's pocket. Without the dragon balls, Goku would have died in the battle against Tao Pai Pao. You could say that the dragon balls saved Goku's life.

If for some reason Tao Pai had not left the ball with Goku... He could have died. Maybe not, and Toriyama would have found another way to save our hero. You know, plot armor and all that. But this specific time, Goku was saved by his enemy's mistake.

Fight against King Piccolo

Even though Goku knew from the beginning that he could not fight Piccolo, he fought anyway. Goku is surprised, but Piccolo quickly recovers, gains strength, and fights back. Piccolo punches Goku, hurting him and knocking him down. The funny thing about DB fights is that this type of movement tends to repeat a lot, but Toriyama does his best to make new battles innovative.

Piccolo is momentarily surprised because he didn't think Goku was that great. He underestimated Goku but was relieved to find that it was a false alarm. And Piccolo was ready to kill our hero. In this case, the real cause of Goku's defeat was the fact that he thought he was powerful enough to face Piccolo fair and square. The fight was a humbling lesson for Goku.

When Goku fought Janemba

Goku deserves credit for trying to fight Janemba but ultimately lost.

Janemba was one of the most formidable opponents Goku faced. He attacked using mini-clones that were larger than Goku. In this battle, Goku had to use SS3 to fight Janemba.

Janemba was an excellent villain. So, of course, he knew what to do. He transformed into a smaller and more powerful version of himself. Like this, he defeated Goku. Things got out of control to the point where Goku had to ask Vegeta for help. Even with Vegeta, things didn't stop being difficult.

Both of them briefly escape to safety, but again, they almost didn't make it. Some outside help had to come.

At one point, Goku had to ask his son Gohan for help

When the Goku vs. Cell fight begins, Cell knows that he is better than Goku. Still, Cell, being some kind of movie villain, wanted to relax and enjoy the combat with the Saiyan. In easier words, he could have easily beaten Goku much earlier, but he decided not to.

And here it is when Goku needed Gohan's help. Goku knew that he had no chance of defeating Cell on his own, but he felt that Gohan could (or that he had a better possibility). Although Cell eventually lost, the battle was a defeat for Goku, and he had to turn to his son to win the victory. In the end, it was more of a "Gohan vs Cell" situation.

Goku had to sacrifice for kid Gohan

When Goku encounters Raditz, this reunion reveals new information that shocks him. However, Raditz kidnaps Gohan and confronts Goku with an ultimatum. If he wants to save Gohan, he has to kill someone. Knowing this could end badly, Goku refuses this gamble and begins his search for Gohan.

During the fight, Goku was in such a position that he needed Piccolo's help. The fighting was so terrible that Goku offered his own life to kill Raditz. If Goku had been more powerful and wiser, he could have avoided this. But unfortunately, he had to make this sacrifice.

When Goku defeated Ginyu

In a duel between Goku and Ginyu, Ginyu attacked unexpectedly. The two warriors were matched, although they kept each other at bay. Goku was soon victorious. He managed to seriously wound Ginyu, but Ginyu switched bodies with Goku.

The maneuver left Goku trapped in Ginyu's dying body. Although Goku won, he lost in tactics and strategy. Sometimes being smart is more crucial than brute strength. The loss of intelligence taught Goku to improve his reasoning skills.

Goku fights with Tien

In the fight against Tien, Goku is the first one to attack. He grabs Tien's legs, throws him in the air, and hits him. Tien then shoots his iconic Dodon Ray, injuring Goku. Goku comes out of the rubble and fights Tien.

However, Tien ends up beating Goku almost to death.

It might be a little cheating on our part here, but the truth is that Goku wins most battles. He is the main character, and even if the fights where he did die, he comes back again and sometimes even more powerful. 

This time, Tien only wins technically, not the fight itself. Even though it depends on luck rather than skill, Goku is still considered to have lost.

Goku's first match against Master Roshi

Among his friends, Goku always knew how powerful he was. From the start, it was easy for him to defeat almost anyone. But as it happens when all you do is win, this sense of knowing he was the best made him lack humility. Master Roshi couldn't allow this. Because he wanted to give Goku a lesson, the old man disguised himself as "Jackie Chun" and fought Goku.

He wanted Goku to know that it didn't matter how strong he was. There was always someone better than him. This battle represents the first fight Goku lost. It was crucial to his future career.

Even if it's been a while since the first Dragon Ball episode aired, some things never change. Goku is one of the most powerful Saiyans in the DB Universe, and it's hard to defeat him. Today, the Dragon Ball fan base might not be as strong as it was twenty or thirty years ago, but it is a solid one. This long-running series was part of people's childhood; people who grew up with the image of Goku training on the screen in front of them.