After the epic one-hour special of Dragon Ball Super, which included Episodes 109 and 110, Ultra Instinct became one of the biggest topics of discussion. I recommend watching those episodes before reading this, because this theory is based on what happened during that special.

For months, Goku’s new form had been called things like Goku Limit Breaker, Super Saiyan White, Super Saiyan Silver, and even Super Saiyan Grey by fans. But after watching the episodes and thinking about what Whis had already explained earlier in Dragon Ball Super, I do not think Ultra Instinct is just another Super Saiyan transformation.

Ultra Instinct is NOT a New Super Saiyan Form

I know there are going to be tons of Dragon Ball fans who call this a new Super Saiyan form beyond Super Saiyan Blue. That is easy to understand. When Goku was using Super Saiyan Blue, he could hardly do anything to Jiren. But once he “transformed,” he was able to match Jiren and, in some cases, even overpower him to a point.

However, after watching the episodes and understanding what Ultra Instinct really is, I believe it is not a new Super Saiyan form. This is something Whis talked about way back near the start of Dragon Ball Super. To me, Ultra Instinct feels more like Gohan’s Mystic “transformation” than a regular Saiyan form.

Ultra Instinct Compared to Mystic Form

First, let’s go back and refresh what Mystic was and what Dragon Ball Super kind of retconned it to be.

Back in Dragon Ball Z, the Elder Kai told Gohan that he could unlock Gohan’s hidden powers. Gohan sat there while Elder Kai did this. When Gohan got upset that it was taking too long, he raised his power in his base form. When that happened, he was already stronger than he had been before. This pushed him to finish his training.

After it was said and done, Elder Kai told Gohan to just do his Super Saiyan thing, which more or less means raising his power. For Saiyans to become stronger, they transform, and that gives them a boost of power. This happened because Gohan had mastered the Super Saiyan form. Gohan did not try to become Super Saiyan 2. He went Super Saiyan.

But as Goku said, Gohan was stronger than he ever was, or could be, as a Super Saiyan in his base form. This is why Gohan no longer needed to become Super Saiyan. In his base form, he was already as strong as he could be. Transforming would only waste energy to change when it would not add to his power.

In Dragon Ball Super, they have sort of changed this into Gohan’s version of Super Saiyan 3, more or less. They have shown Gohan becoming Super Saiyan and then pushing beyond that a few times, but then he changes back to normal and appears as he did in the Buu Saga. This is what fans call Mystic Gohan or the Mystic form.

What is Ultra Instinct?

In a nutshell, as Whis put it, Ultra Instinct is a state of mind where someone is able to react to battle without thinking. Whis was training both Goku and Vegeta in this, but neither of them would listen.

The way Whis explained it, Ultra Instinct is capable of automatically reacting to any threat or attack without the fighter having to acknowledge it. These immense reflexes can be used to attack and counter instead of just being used for defense.

Because the body moves without the use of the brain, the fighter is free to strategize. With the correct judgment, the fighter can dodge a wider variety of attacks, even in a weakened condition. By this statement alone, I do not see Ultra Instinct as a power-up at all.

The silver and blue energy around Goku was, in fact, as Whis put it, the Spirit Bomb charging his already drained body. This means one simple thing.

Goku Can Use Ultra Instinct in Any Form

Super Saiyan God, Super Saiyan, or what became known as Super Saiyan Blue, came from Goku and Vegeta mastering Super Saiyan God. Super Saiyan God was a limited state where Goku reacted with the same power as a divine god.

Goku then fused that energy and transformed it into a base Super Saiyan. The result was Super Saiyan Blue.

This means that once Goku understands how to put himself into the state of Ultra Instinct, if he powers back up to Super Saiyan Blue while using it, he would be unstoppable more or less. Think about that for a moment.

Ultra Instinct is a State of Mind, Not a Power-Up

I know some people will believe that Ultra Instinct is not a new Super Saiyan form, but that it is still a power-up. I do not think that is the case. I believe it is a state of mind.

Being able to react to battle without thinking about it allows you to focus on other things while your body defends itself. You see this when Goku is just standing there and can block attacks and moves as if he is floating around.

The truth is, I do not think Goku got any stronger than some people might think. Goku appeared stronger because he was able to fight Jiren on equal ground without thinking. He was reacting and moving.

You can see this the very moment Goku’s eyes blink from the silver and white color back to black for a moment. At that moment, Whis’s reaction changed. They even cut right to him when this happened. You will also notice that Goku started showing emotions again instead of having the blank face he had before.

Ultra Instinct Was a Limited State

This is why Goku was able to get two big attacks off, but ultimately the power failed because he started thinking again, so Ultra Instinct was lost. This was not because he ran out of power, even though that might have been the case as well.

So if Goku can calm himself again, he might be able to go back into Ultra Instinct and even be able to power back up to Super Saiyan Blue with it.

To be honest, I do not believe we will see that white form again. I believe it was the result of the Spirit Bomb’s energy that Goku was using after his own energy had been used up.

However, there is still a lot about what happened that is not known. The Spirit Bomb, in a way, became a black hole, and Goku fell into it. His willpower clashed with that of the Spirit Bomb, which allowed him to break his limit.

Perhaps we will learn more about it, but I doubt we will see Goku get some crazy new form like Super Saiyan 3 or even Blue. The reason is that I feel there are already too many Saiyan forms, and it has become rare to even see Goku go into a basic Super Saiyan form now.

Gohan Can Reach Ultra Instinct Too

Far-fetched, I know. For a while, people and myself believed that the whole Tournament of Power was, like the last arc with Trunks, a throwback to the Cell Games. This would result in Gohan unlocking some new power and winning the whole thing.

Even with the focus being kind of out there, I had a theory. Remember how Goku faced Cell knowing he could not win, but this allowed Gohan to watch how Cell fought?

Now, while I think Gohan might not be the winner, I think he could get pushed to his limit and unlock something like Ultra Instinct.

Remember, Ultra Instinct is a state of not thinking and just reacting. Goku reacted to this by finally unlocking his hidden power and breaking from his shell, kind of like Gohan has done before.

Gohan has already done this. While right now he is far back from where he should be, maybe something will happen that will push Gohan. Maybe he will go beyond his limit and unlock something like Ultra Instinct himself.

I still have hope for a Gogeta fusion or even a Gohan and Goku fusion to happen, given that it would not be against the rules. I think it would be something super cool to see, especially since they are doing so many throwbacks to the films and events of Dragon Ball Z.

But that is another topic. In any case, we will have to wait and see what the official statement on Ultra Instinct is and how Goku reached it. There is also the heat factor that was pointed out, but not enough information is out to come up with a theory on it yet.