The Dragon Ball universe might have started with a bunch of plucky, unusual humans, but it’s grown into a series that features many different species and types of creatures. Throughout the bulk of the series the infamous Saiyans receive most of the spotlight.
It doesn’t hurt that as the series continues, there are a growing number of Saiyans that pop up and stick around. Even though Goku and his fellow Saiyans receive lots of attention, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other fascinating races within the Dragon Ball universe.
When Dragon Ball Z enters the Frieza Saga, the show heads off to Planet Namek and shades in a lot of the history of Piccolo’s people in the process.
Namekians have been a consistent presence in the series, but they are still largely a mystery due to the destruction of their planet. There are occasions where the green, regenerative race gets to spend some time in the spotlight, but there’s still so much to learn about these aliens.
Even now, in Dragon Ball Super, the species continue to fascinate and there are new details to reveal about these characters. Everyone loves Piccolo and his interesting arsenal of attacks, but there’s so much more to these intergalactic mystic warriors.
Here are the 17 Things You Didn’t Know About Dragon Ball’s Namekians.
They Can Turn Super Namek, An Equivalent To Super Saiyan
Everyone freaks out over Super Saiyans and the flashy transformations helped the species turn into the most popular characters in Dragon Ball. Saiyans receive a fancy hair color change and an intimidating aura, but Namekians actually have their own Super Saiyan equivalency, too.
Super Namekians have power that’s one hundred times stronger than a regular Namekian. These legendary fighters even have a contentious history wherein they were banned from Planet Namek and became nomads of the universe.
After Piccolo fuses with Nail, he officially hits the echelon of Super Namekian. Lord Slug is also said to be the last of the original Super Namekians that were banished from the planet.
There’s even a Red-Eyed Super Namekian form that appears in Dragon Ball Online and Dragon Ball Heroes that seems to be more dangerous than the normal Super Namekian.
They All Have Some Degree Of Evil In Their Heart
Namekians have evil in them, plain and simple. This might be a hard fact to swallow considering that Piccolo, Dragon Ball’s resident Namekian, has long been one of the good guys, but it’s true.
The evil that grows within Namekians is a fickle thing, but it’s an urge that’s important to deal with early on in their lifespan. When the evil within Namekians gets curbed early on they can lead eventful, pure lives. However, if this evil is allowed to manifest then there will be some serious complications.
King Piccolo and Lord Slug are examples of when the internal evil within Namekians is allowed to mutate and grow.
In fact, King Piccolo has so much evil inside of him that he literally grows children out of all of his hate. So basically, Namekians follow a lot of the same principles of Gremlins, but it’s okay if they get wet.
They Can Elongate And Regenerate Their Limbs
The element of surprise is an essential tool on the battlefield and Namekians have a handy trump card when fights begin to get out of control. One of the trademark techniques of Namekians is that they’re able to rip off and regenerate their limbs.
Namekians can get pretty liberal with this maneuver and are even capable of re-growing lengthier limbs like arms and legs. Namekians can dip into this power fairly regularly, as long as their brains are still intact and they have enough ki left. However, it can still be an exhausting measure to pull off.
The same principles apply with the Namekians’ ability to elongate their limbs to crazy lengths. The technique might not increase their strength, but it does give them incredible resilience and versatility. It also makes Piccolo an incredible arm wrestler if he ever needs to bust out the skill.
They Can Create Dragon Balls
A good portion of the Dragon Ball series revolves around characters’ efforts to recover the titular Dragon Balls and make their greatest wish come to life.
Once Namekians enter the scene, the series expands on the Dragon Ball mythos in some exciting ways that tie together with these green guys. The series explains that the Namekians are not only responsible for the Dragon Balls, but that they even have their own set that are specific to Planet Namek.
The Namekian Dragon Balls are also more powerful than Earth’s regular variety, as they allow the user three wishes versus the usual one. They even have another Eternal Dragon, Porunga, who’s the one who doles out the wishes.
It can be nearly impossible to locate all seven Dragon Balls, but it’s much easier to find a capable Namek and force their hand.
There's A Namekian Android
Is there anything cooler than a Namekian-Android hybrid? This bonkers idea might not happen in the Dragon Ball anime or manga, but it’s one of the reasons why a game like Dragon Ball Fusions wields so much potential. Everyone loves crazy, elaborate fusion mash-ups.
Dragon Ball Fusions introduces Android 76 as a Namekian Android made from Dr. Gero's villain database. In spite of this, Android 76 is surprisingly good-natured and the character takes after Android 16 and 8 in terms of his disposition.
Not much is known about Android 76's past, but Dragon Ball Fusions indicates he comes from a timeline that's connected to the Timespace Rift that Tekka and Pinich create from their wish to Shenron. It’s unknown if 76 is a Namekian converted into a cyborg or a Namekian created in the laboratory and then augmented with cybernetics. Either way, he’s all sorts of cool.
They Have Telepathy With Their Offspring
Here’s one Namekian skill that Chi-Chi definitely wishes that she had so she can keep an even closer eye on her children. Namekians possess the ability to have a telepathic union with their children.
This might not be their most useful talent, but it definitely serves a purpose and it highlights the more spiritual aspect of the species. Not only are Namekians able to telepathically communicate with their offspring, but their skills go one step further and they can also tell when their children are in danger, or worse, about to die.
This is a skill that King Piccolo puts into practice with Piccolo Jr., but it also comes up when Elder Guru senses Nail’s energy fade away. This acts as a nice way for Namekians to get in one last goodbye to their loved ones, but it also provides a major tactical advantage if used in the right way.
There's A Great Namek Transformation, Not Unlike The Saiyan's Great Apes
Those that dig deep will discover that there are a surprising number of similarities between Saiyans and Namekians.
The Super Namekian transformation is essentially the species’ version of Super Saiyans, but Namekians also have an answer to the Saiyan’s towering Great Ape form, too.
Namekians have the ability to drastically grow in size and become Great Namekians. This maneuver is first used by Piccolo Jr. in Dragon Ball, but it doesn’t truly become a threat until Lord Slug gets creative with it.
Lord Slug’s Great Namekian form appears to be stronger than Goku in “false” Super Saiyan mode. Furthermore, Goku needs to resort to both his Kaio-Ken Attack and the Spirit Bomb in order to take down this Great Namekian.
Matters get even more interesting in the Xenoverse titles where Xeno Slug can turn into a Dark Super Giant Namekian, which appears to be even bigger and stronger.
They Have Super Sensitive Hearing
Namekians have a number of capabilities that are beyond that of the typical human. The species are great fighters, but they’re also masterful opponents because of their many defensive assets.
It’s one thing to be able to beat a rival into submission, but what about when that’s not enough? Namekians have some pretty recognizable ears, but those things aren’t just for show! The species actually have highly-tuned, super sensitive auditory skills.
There are a handful of occasions where Namekian super hearing comes into play, like when Emperor Pilaf or Future Trunks are paranoid over how their plans have been overheard by Namekians.
Piccolo also brags that he can hear across the universe and he puts this into practice when he tracks Goku and Broly down to New Planet Vegeta. This ability becomes even more intense when Namekians become Great Namekians, due to the increased size of their ears.
They Only Require Water, Not Food
Dragon Ball is a series that is full of characters with absolutely terrifying appetites. Goku often eats multiple times his weight in food without missing a beat and the Earth would be a smoking pile of rubble courtesy of Beerus if not for the planet’s exquisite cuisine.
These fighters are all about a good meal. That being said, viewers might have a hard time picking Piccolo out at any of the show’s gluttonous feasts because Namekians don’t require food.
Namekians have certain enzymes that flow through their body that turn water into essential nutrients. This means that they only require liquids to survive.
Furthermore, even though Namekians don’t need to eat food, there are still a few references throughout the series that imply that they at least enjoy the taste of a good meal. Everyone deserves to know the pleasure of a good cup of instant ramen.
They Have Very Long Lifespans
The Namekians had a very peaceful existence on Planet Namek before Frieza sets up shop and decides to get all trigger-happy with the place. The series offers up a glimpse of the lives of the Namekians and one of the most significant details is how high up these creatures can get in their age.
The oldest Namekian on record is the Grand Elder Guru who grows to be over 500 years old before he croaks. Conversely, Kami is 300 years old before he fuses with Piccolo and ends his tenure on Korin’s Tower.
It’s unclear just how old Namekians can grow in age, but it looks like a couple hundred years is nothing for them. It’s worth mentioning that the strength of Namekians does appear to dip once they get up there in the years. After all, King Piccolo’s plight revolves around how he wants to regain his youth.
They Have Their Own Form Of Fusion
The later phases of Dragon Ball introduce the concept of fusion where two strong warriors can combine into an even more powerful fighter. It’s a great way to add some variety and “new” characters into the mix. However, before Potara earrings and fusion dances would become canon, Namekians were already experimenting with the process.
Namekians are able to fuse together, however it’s a permanent process that combines the souls of Namekians into a single host. It’s a technique that’s witnessed with Piccolo, Kami, Nail, and even a number of the Namekians from Universe 6 while in preparation for the Tournament of Power.
Curiously, when Nail and Piccolo fuse, “Nail” is still able to communicate with Dende through Piccolo. Additionally, when Piccolo and Kami fuse, Piccolo’s personality changes a little in response to the new soul that’s apart of him.
They Have A History Trading With Planets
It’s easy to forget that the Namekians have a long, storied history that goes much deeper than what’s shown off in the Dragon Ball series. The Namekians have been around for nearly a thousand years, but only a few dozen episodes are devoted to their history and ecosystems. It also doesn’t help that Frieza then goes ahead and blows up their planet.
The popular Dragon Ball resource guide, Daizenshuu, sheds a few details on the Namekians’ past, like how they were apparently large traders throughout the universe. Namekians would often strike up deals with other planets in the hopes of bartering or creating a new trade relationship.
Daizenshuu also discusses the technological knowledge and capabilities of the race, but after a drastic climate shift and cataclysm, many of these traits were cut short.
There Are Approximately 100 Namekians On Planet Namek During Dragon Ball
Namekians are essentially an endangered species in the Dragon Ball universe. There is an extremely small amount left across all 12 universes.
Even before this drastic culling of the race takes place, it’s not as if Planet Namek was an especially busy place. In fact, the series indicates there are only approximately one hundred Namekians left on the planet at the start of Dragon Ball.
The reason for these particularly low numbers is that the species experiences considerable losses in their prior generation. In fact, the only survivors are the Grand Elder Guru, King Piccolo (who goes off to Earth), and then Lord Slug.
Fortunately, due to the hermaphroditic nature of Namekians, Elder Guru is able to jumpstart the population. King Piccolo also does his part in reproducing more offspring, but the species still faces miniscule numbers in comparison to some of the other races out there.
In Dragon Ball Online Evil Namekians Launch A Revolt On Earth
In the Dragon Ball anime and manga, Earth becomes more or less free of evil Namekians after the defeat of King Piccolo and his many offspring (Piccolo Jr. included). At this point in time, audiences didn’t even know that these creatures were Namekians, but it was still clear that they were a dangerous threat to Earth’s safety.
Moving forward, Namekians joined the ranks of complicated allies to Goku and company. Nevertheless, Dragon Ball Online manages to spice things up by throwing more evil Namekians into the fray. The online game says that Evil Namekians land on Earth and begin to spawn their eggs in Age 940.
By Age 972, these evil forces have grown in size and Naraku, the villainous Black Namekian, begins to lead this revolt against humanity. Naraku helps illustrate just how dangerous Namekians can be with the proper motivation.
They Have A Weakness To Whistling
As powerful and resilient as Namekians are, it only takes a few bars of high-pitched acoustics to send the green meanies into a frenzy. This Namekian weakness really only comes into play in the film, Lord Slug (and to a lesser extent in the Xenoverse video games with Xeno Slug), but it’s an area that could stand to make a reappearance in the Dragon Ball canon.
The story here is that Namekians are incredibly susceptible to whistling due to their hypersensitive hearing. It’s this that leads to Lord Slug’s downfall and Piccolo even resorts to ripping off his ears in order to become somewhat immune to the high octave hell.
Additionally, Namekians are a hundred times more susceptible to whistling if they’re a Super Namekian and the pain is even worse when they’re a giant Great Namekiean. For Namekians, silence truly is golden.
The First Namekians Landed On Earth 300 Years Prior To The Events Of Dragon Ball
Many Dragon Ball fans consider the appearance of King Piccolo in the original Dragon Ball to be the first appearance of a Namekian in the series. Those fans aren’t wrong, but that also doesn’t mean that this is the first time that anyone encounters a Namekian.
For instance, King Piccolo has a rich history with Master Roshi pre-Dragon Ball and their backstory indicates that the very first Namekians landed on Earth 300 years prior to the start of Dragon Ball.
During these 300 years King Piccolo and his children advance their skills and wreak havoc on the planet. This rampage ends when Master Mutaito and his disciples (mainly Master Roshi and Master Shen) execute the Evil Containment Wave attack.
Accordingly, when Dragon Ball actually begins, there’s already a hearty grudge in play in response to Namekians.
They Are Split Into Two Classes: Warriors And The Dragon Clan
Namekians actually have a rather intricate caste system that helps divide the species based on their opposing talents. Namekians are broken down into either Dragon Clan members, or Warrior-Types, with each of them serving a vital purpose.
Dragon Clan Namekians are the magic users of the race and their most advanced members are the ones that create Dragon Balls. Alternatively, Warrior-Types are obviously better suited for battle and can later become Shadow Knights or Dark Warriors (at least according to Dragon Ball Online).
Before Frieza decimates Planet Namek, the ratio of Namekians is that 86% of the population is from the Dragon Clan and the remaining 14% are Warrior-Types.
Piccolo is one of the extremely rare examples of a Namekian who is half of each class (due to his fusions). Additionally, both King Piccolo and Lord Slug create their own Demon Clan class, which serves mutated, evil Namekians.
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Did we forget any other interesting facts about Dragon Ball's Namekians? Get ready to rip off some arms and prove your Namekian knowledge by sounding off in the comments!