Cell did power up in front of Piccolo though and lacked an aura completely.Captain Cadaver said:All we can say for definite is that he was significantly stronger than his timeline's #17 and #18. Anything beyond that is assumptions, really.
Some believe he's comparable to his post-Gingertown self due to him displaying an aura that Gingertown Cell lacked, but I'd say this is quite a reach when it's not as though Cell had an opportunity to put it on full display in his fight with Piccolo.
It honestly doesn't seem that different from how his power up against Piccolo and #17 was shown to be initially.Kenshi said:Cell did power up in front of Piccolo though and lacked an aura completely.