Did Nail have his potential unlocked?

[ahill1]

Do you think Nail had his potential unlocked by the Great Elder? If so,.would his potential be inferior to Kuririn's?

 

[Captain Cadaver]

I'd probably say yes as it seems illogical for the Grand Elder to sit about giving Dende a free boost whilst leaving the guy who's going directly into battle hanging. I wouldn't say it directly shows Nail's potential is vastly inferior to Kuririn's though. Kuririn's boost started out far below Nail's level and vastly powered up with each fight he took part in to further release it, whereas a peaceful Namekian like Nail would likely have never seen real combat prior to fighting Freeza.

 

[withheldforprivacy]

I theorize that he did. This could explain why Nail is tens of times stronger than any other Namek and also provides evidence that places Krillin's power (post unlock) not above the power he showed against Ginyu (around 25k), since it makes more sense for Krillin's potential to be less. I mean, if you think about it, nothing really proves Namek Krillin ever went past that number.

 

[SSJ2]

There would be no reason for the greatest warrior on Namek not to have his potential unlocked.

As for his potential being less than Krillin's, I really don't have an issue with that. I don't think being a Namek should automatically reward you with more potential than a human. Nail was the greatest Namekian, but Krillin is the greatest earthling and his potential reflects that. He was always shown to have great intellect and creativity in fighting and ki, but being restricted to training on earth held back his overall gains.

 

[ahill1]

Do you think Kuririn was a special case among earthlings then? Some ppl think he could have had as much potential as other earthling fighters but that he was luck enough to undergo all that special path to achieving the power he did.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

I'd say it's a bit of both. He's shown to be a talented fighter, though the likes of Tenshinhan and Yajirobe seem more naturally strong and with more natural talent (as well as Roshi counting Super ). Kuririn had more benefits in experience though. Still, I'd say Kuririn is still amongst the top tier of Earthling talents.

 

[SSJ2]

I'd say it's a bit of both. He's shown to be a talented fighter, though the likes of Tenshinhan and Yajirobe seem more naturally strong and with more natural talent (as well as Roshi counting Super ). Kuririn had more benefits in experience though. Still, I'd say Kuririn is still amongst the top tier of Earthling talents.

First of all, Tenshinhan is an alien. Second, I'd disagree with Yajirobe being more talented. He was naturally immensely strong and durable but never really got a chance to showcase an elite skillset. Krillin easily eclipsed him after they both received the same training from Kami, so I'd say that should be indicative of their talents respectively.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Yajirobe never really put in the effort though. From what we see in the manga, he never bothered to put much real effort into Kami's training compared to his peers, yet still ended up surpassing Kami and came close to 1k according to guidebooks. I'd say that's pretty indicative of his natural talent, with it being a far different point of comparison had he actually put as much effort into the training as everyone else.

 

[ahill1]

If the Orin Temple Bully for instance went through everything Kuririn did, would he come out as strong or close?

I find it hard to believe an Earthling's potential can be compared to a Namekian in any way. Even the not so outstanding ones were already wielding power way above Raditz's, a Saiyajin. I could buy it if Kuririn were a rare exception as an earthling way ahead of the curve due to a genetic mutation, like Ginyu thought was the case with Goku for him wielding a ~60k power.

 

[SSJ2]

I'd argue the exact opposite. Krillin had a power level below 10 at the start of the series. Human babies are probably born with a battle power below 1. Namekians are naturally born far stronger than this and the warriors quite possibly have had their power unlocked by Guru. In my eyes, for Krillin to go from 1 to 1,000+ while fighting inferior enemies on earth says a lot about his potential. The best Namekians who were born much stronger only managed to reach 3,000. The Nameks are born into an environment where warriors with 3k battle powers is the norm. This automatically gives them a huge advantage when it comes to training and having elite sparring partners. On earth, the guardian himself only had a power level of 200 at max. For the earthlings to become so strong speaks more to their greater potential than anything imo.

 

[GreatSaiyaman123]

I’m not so sure if Nail had his unlocked or not, but it would explain how he skyrocketed far past other Namekian Warriors. Either way I don’t think Kuririn ever got to reach or surpass Nail, so no issue here.

Btw Guru did say Kuririn has a lot of dormant power for an human.

 

[ahill1]

that's true, I think we shouldn't get birth power and potential confused. but still, the idea of Earthlings being a prodigy and prospecting race as much or moreso than the Namekians is hard for me to swallow.

 

[SSJ2]

Who ever said that was the case? There are a handful of earthlings in which that would apply to. I also don't see anyone confusing birth power with overall potential. The point I made was that it is more impressive to consider the gains that the earthlings made when you consider their starting point. Starting with low battle power and fighting a weak crop of enemies/allies on earth - yet still managing to surpass Namekian warriors is pretty objective proof that some earthlings had greater potential than Namekians.

 

[ahill1]

I also don't see anyone confusing birth power with overall potential.

It wasn't directed to you, I was speaking about me, mostly. I was agreeing that birth power isn't always indicative of potential. There's also Goku being born with a 2 (or at least way below 10) BP and possessing at least as much potential as Vegeta.

But with Nail though, he seemed to be an outstanding warrior from his race. He was definitely an elite. He was the cream of Namek, after Kami-Sama, apparently. So is Kuririn someone with an also outstanding power for earthlings's standards?

 

[SSJ2]

I also don't see anyone confusing birth power with overall potential.

So is Kuririn someone with an also outstanding power for earthlings's standards?

I think this kind of speaks for itself. Krillin, Tenshinhan, Yamcha, Chaozu, Yajirobe etc are the most elite earthlings in terms of potential. That's 5 people out of an entire race. Earthlings certainly aren't portrayed as a prodigal race by any means. Look at how pitiful the average human is.

 

[ahill1]

Yeah, if Kuririn is meant to be looked to as one in a million among an otherwise not so outstanding race, then fair enough. I was always kinda uneasy with the thought of Kuririn having more potential than Nail, but it's possible I guess. I think it can also be argued that potential isn't always some inhate thing, and that all the jazz and training Kuririn went through built such amazing potential.

 

[SSJ2]

Definitely. It's no different than a pro athlete who has dedicated to their lives to a sport since very early age. Someone who casually picked up the sport in their teens or adult life will never be able to reach such levels regardless of their innate talent.

 

[GreatSaiyaman123]

How aren’t birth power and potential related? It’s like the best measure stick for potential imo. This is how strong this person was before having any influence over them whatsoever.

I also think the “potential increases” point has a loophole in it. Kuririn has been training this entire time, but Nail was in a tier far beyond the guys Kuririn faced and fighting them wouldn’t require Nail to break a sweat. That would mean Nail’s potential is higher given the guys that pushed Kuririn so far are nothing to him.

 

[SSJ2]

Not sure how that is relevant in the slightest to Krillin. The exact same thing can be assumed for Nail anyway, given that he was the supreme warrior of the planet.