Dragon Balls Guide
Legacy Archive: Dragon Ball Information Guide
This page preserves an old Dragon Ball fan-site style guide about the Dragon Balls, their rules, and the different sets seen throughout Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT.
Archive note: This page has been reformatted for readability. Original image placeholders and “Actual Size” captions have been removed because the source images are unavailable.
The Dragon Ball Quest
We all know how easy it eventually becomes for Goku and the Z Soldiers to track down the Dragon Balls on Earth. In Dragon Ball Z Movie 13, they actually spend a leisurely afternoon gathering them.
But it was not always that easy to get all of them, something you are sure to have seen in Dragon Ball. From start to finish, the first Dragon Ball quest took a couple of months for Bulma, and nine days alone with Goku’s help.
Along the way, they tricked a shape-shifting pig, battled the deadly desert bandit Yamcha and his sidekick Puar, overcame a mountain of flames, outwitted a magical rabbit, and destroyed the forces of the great Emperor Pilaf.
Okay, so maybe it all sounds a bit strange, but that does not make it any less difficult. However, this was only the first round of searching. As Dragon Ball continued, there were many harder things to overcome, from evil androids to nasty green aliens, making it incredibly hard for the gang to gather all seven of these magic balls.
Dragon Balls 101
Basically, in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, there are two different sets of Dragon Balls that the viewer is aware of. Kami, the good half of Piccolo, originally created the Earth’s Dragon Balls. Kami chose the form of a dragon to grant a wish to anyone lucky or skillful enough to gather all seven Dragon Balls together at one time.
The other set of Dragon Balls existed on Namek, and Guru created them. The Dragon Balls on Namek were the first set to exist. Guru created the dragon that granted the wishes, Porunga, after an image he saw in a dream.
Porunga is five times the size of Earth’s Eternal Dragon, Shenron, and is capable of some heavy-duty wish granting.
The Ultimate Dark Star Dragon Balls were technically the second set of Dragon Balls created. They were created by Piccolo before he split into a good half and an evil half. Following traditional anime logic, something made by a full entity is far more powerful than something created by only half an entity.
Their existence is only discovered in Dragon Ball GT. They are extremely powerful wish granters. Though their limits are never exactly tested, what they grant cannot be undone by other sets of Dragon Balls, and they carry a hefty evil side effect, probably as a result of the evil side of Piccolo.
After a wish is granted, the Ultimate Dark Star Dragon Balls scatter across the universe. If they are not gathered within a year, the planet they last granted a wish on will explode. I would call that an added incentive to get them back.
Rules & Regulations
It can be hard to keep track of all the different rules for wish making in Dragon Ball, so this section serves as a guide for the different sets of Dragon Balls and what they can and cannot do.
Earth’s Dragon Balls
Before Dende’s Power-Up
- All seven Dragon Balls must be gathered in one place.
- The words “Come out Eternal Dragon!” or “Come out Shenron!” must be uttered for the dragon to appear.
- Only one wish can be granted at a time. However, multiple people can be resurrected with just one wish.
- The wish cannot exceed Kami’s physical power.
- The wish cannot exceed King Yemma’s power of jurisdiction. In other words, someone who died of natural causes, or has been dead for over a year, cannot be revived.
- Nobody can be resurrected more than once.
- After the wish has been granted, the Dragon Balls will turn to stone and scatter across the Earth.
- One year later, the Dragon Balls become active again, and another wish may be granted.
- If the Eternal Dragon, Shenron, is killed, he may be resurrected. The statue within Kami’s shrine that symbolizes his life must be rebuilt for this to occur.
- If the creator of the Dragon Balls dies without an heir, the Dragon Balls will become useless.
Namekian Dragon Balls
- All seven Dragon Balls must be gathered in one place.
- The Namekian words “Takkaraputo Popporunga Pupirittobaro” must be uttered to summon Porunga.
- Three wishes can be granted at one time.
- A person can be wished back more than one time.
- After a wish has been granted, the Dragon Balls will turn to stone. Although it is never specified if the Dragon Balls scatter randomly after a wish is granted, they are usually held by the elders of each village on the planet.
- One hundred and thirty days after all three wishes are made, the Dragon Balls will become active again, and another wish may be granted.
- It is assumed that the wish cannot exceed Guru’s physical power.
- If Guru dies without an heir, the Dragon Balls will become useless.
- Multiple people may be wished back at one time after Muuri’s power-up.
Earth Dragon Balls
After Dende’s Power-Up
- All seven Dragon Balls must be gathered in one place.
- The words “Come out Eternal Dragon!” or “Come out Shenron!” must be uttered in order for the dragon to appear.
- Three wishes may be granted at a time.
- The wish cannot exceed Dende’s physical power.
- One wish can be granted at a time. However, multiple people can be resurrected with just one wish.
- A person can be revived multiple times.
- Although it is never specified if someone can be wished back once they have been dead for over a year, it is possible. However, no one can be wished back if they died from natural causes.
- After the wish has been granted, the Dragon Balls will turn to stone and scatter across the Earth.
- One year after a wish has been granted, the Dragon Balls will become active again, and another wish may be granted.
- If only one wish is granted, the waiting period is only four months.
- If two wishes are granted, the waiting period is only eight months.
- If the Eternal Dragon, Shenron, is killed, he can be resurrected. The statue within Dende’s shrine symbolizes his life and must be rebuilt in order to resurrect him.
- If the creator of the Dragon Balls dies or disappears without an heir, the Dragon Balls become useless.
Ultimate Dark Star Dragon Balls
- All seven Dragon Balls must be gathered in one place.
- The words “Come out Eternal Dragon!” or “Come out Shenron!” must be uttered for the dragon to appear.
- One wish may be granted at a time.
- The exact amount of power these Dragon Balls possess is unknown. However, they are extremely powerful.
- Other Dragon Balls cannot undo wishes that have been granted by these Dragon Balls.
- These Dragon Balls may be able to grant wishes beyond the power of King Yemma and Kami.
- It is not known if someone can be resurrected twice, but it seems likely that it is possible.
- After a wish has been granted, the Dragon Balls will scatter across the universe.
- One year after a wish is granted, if the seven Dragon Balls are not reunited with one another, the planet on which they last granted a wish will explode.
- If the creator of the Dragon Balls dies without an heir, the Dragon Balls will become useless.
