Can Babidi’s men be sensed?

[GSM123]

Just wanted to revisit this old issue. Can those guys be sensed? The answer is probably going to be no, but why? And how come Vegeta’s Ki could be sensed?

 

[Captain Cadaver]

It definitely seems not, considering how Goku and Vegeta had to rely on Dabura's movements to judge him rather than sensing his Ki, as well as Goku specifying he dodged Yakon through hearing the changes in the air currents rather than sensing his Ki.

As for Majin Vegeta being the outlier, it's likely due to him not having been made Babidi's servant like the others.

 

[GSM123]

It definitely seems not, considering how Goku and Vegeta had to rely on Dabura's movements to judge him rather than sensing his Ki, as well as Goku specifying he dodged Yakon through hearing the changes in the air currents rather than sensing his Ki.

As for Majin Vegeta being the outlier, it's likely due to him not having been made Babidi's servant like the others.

There's also Goku flat out saying he couldn't sense any life/Ki from Spopovich.

About Dabra's statement though. Vegeta does say he's referring to his "attacks and movements" rather than only movements, so there might be some sensing involved. After all, is seeing Dabra blasting Kibito and flying away enough to gauge someone's strength?

I've put some thought into the whys here. Babidi's magic (Or at least his potential unlock) is implied to be powered by dark magic. Perhaps the magic quality of the power up makes their Ki undetectable, and Vegeta's love for his family nullified the dark magic? Though if that were the case, his power up would've also been affected...

 

[Captain Cadaver]

About Dabra's statement though. Vegeta does say he's referring to his "attacks and movements" rather than only movements, so there might be some sensing involved. After all, is seeing Dabra blasting Kibito and flying away enough to gauge someone's strength?

It may have been the speed of the attack that allowed Vegeta to make his judgement.

Characters have been able to assess the strength of others when fighting far weaker opponents as early back as Yamcha being able to tell Jackie Chun had gotten strong enough at the 22nd TB compared to his previous appearance that this would be an interesting tournament just from seeing him oneshot worthless jabronis. Whilst the difference was far less battle power wise, it is pretty much the same as far as the narrative goes.

I've put some thought into the whys here. Babidi's magic (Or at least his potential unlock) is implied to be powered by dark magic. Perhaps the magic quality of the power up makes their Ki undetectable, and Vegeta's love for his family nullified the dark magic? Though if that were the case, his power up would've also been affected...

Not to mention Boo is a creature created entirely from magic and his Ki is notoriously difficult for people to properly assess.

I don't think Vegeta's feelings would've mitigated his boost, considering Babidi's possession simply draws a person's power beyond their current limits and his possession of their will is just an additional effect on most.

 

[GSM123]

It may have been the speed of the attack that allowed Vegeta to make his judgement.

Characters have been able to assess the strength of others when fighting far weaker opponents as early back as Yamcha being able to tell Jackie Chun had gotten strong enough at the 22nd TB compared to his previous appearance that this would be an interesting tournament just from seeing him oneshot worthless jabronis. Whilst the difference was far less battle power wise, it is pretty much the same as far as the narrative goes.

Maybe, but power and speed don’t always correlate. It’s also worth noting Vegeta was unable to track even Gero due to relying more on Ki sensing than his own eyes, so the mere fact he could see Dabra’s movements would imply he wasn’t trying at all.

Though it was Goku who raised the comparison to Cell saying that Dabra probably wasn’t at full power killing Kibito, so the two aren’t mutually exclusive here.

I’m not sure if these situations are comparable. Yamcha specifically referred to Roshi polishing his moves, which is more about skill than power.

I don't think Vegeta's feelings would've mitigated his boost, considering Babidi's possession simply draws a person's power beyond their current limits and his possession of their will is just an additional effect on most.

Looks like the other way around to me. Babidi first possessed Vegeta and then unlocked his power, and Daizenshuu 7 says they’re different steps of the same spell. If step one is hijacked, then so should step two.