The makers of Dragon Ball Super are always keen to give Goku the spotlight by giving him a lot of plot armors, whether it is a new transformation or defeating a major villain. Although Toriyama had once said that he doesn’t like Vegeta so much, he later on found the character to be unexpectedly interesting and well defined as he was writing the story. He also respected the views of the fans as Vegeta is a fan favorite for a lot of people. It is true that Goku receives a lot of power boosts compared to the others. However, the Prince of all Saiyans is catching up quite close.

In the Resurrection ‘F’ movie, Fans were thrilled to see Goku transforming into Super Saiyan Blue for the first time. But the fact that Vegeta too was able to achieve and use the Blue form added more to the excitement and the element of surprise for them. We’ve seen that Goku is always one step ahead of Vegeta, but moments like these make us question it and wonder if the vice versa can become a reality in the future..

Shenron, the eternal Dragon, explained to our heroes the way to achieve the Super Saiyan God form. This enabled Goku and Yamoshi to transform into the red haired form for the first time. Vegeta lagged behind. However in the fight against Frieza, he seemed to not only achieve the God form but to surpass it as well. He uses the God form later on against Goku Black in the Manga and against Broly. This posed a question on everyone’s mind. How and when did Vegeta find the means to acquire the Super Saiyan God form and even surpass it?

These questions are not officially answered in the main series. However, by bringing together a couple of hints and evidences and analyzing them, a worthy answer can be obtained. This article attempts to do just that.

When did Vegeta become a Super Saiyan God for the first time?

To answer it directly, Vegeta transformed into Super Saiyan God for the first time when he was training under Whis in Beerus’s planet in the first 6 months prior to when Goku came to join the training.

After seeing Goku get stronger and fight Beerus, Vegeta feels left behind and is desperate to find a way to close the gap between him and his rival. When he learns that Whis is simply not just Beerus’s attendant but also his teacher, Vegeta begs Whis to take him as his pupil. Whis initially refused but later agreed to the proposal as Vegeta enticed the Angel with instant Ramen and promised him with more supply of the foodstuff later on in return.

After some time, Goku too managed to convince Whis to train him and both headed off to Beerus’s planet. In episode 18 of Dragon Ball Super, Goku emphasizes on how much stronger Vegeta became in six months and said that the mighty Prince may be even stronger than him. He further adds that he almost didn’t recognize Vegeta as his energy feels completely different from when they were on Earth. This can be only possible if Vegeta found a way to obtain God ki, which is different from regular ki, (hence his energy feels completely different) and achieve the Super Saiyan God form (hence almost becoming as strong as Goku).

The ways to achieve Super Saiyan God

There are three ways to bring forth the Divine Saiyan form:

• Assemble five righteous Saiyans and instruct them to infuse their energy into the target Saiyan as mentioned in the Namekian Book of Legends which is narrated by Shenron.

• By using the Dragon Balls, a Deity can wish for a Saiyan’s body and later transform into Super Saiyan Rosé, the divine counterpart to Super Saiyan Blue (As demonstrated by Goku Black).

• A Saiyan Mortal can obtain God ki by training under an Angel or a being who has God ki, enabling the Saiyan to achieve Super Saiyan God.

The first two means to achieve the divine form is pretty much established in the main series. The third one is not officially stated. But, there is a hint which implies its possibility.

In Chapter 27 of Dragon Ball Super Manga, Although Perfected Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta seemed to gain the upper hand while sparring with Beerus; he was immediately defeated and pinned to the ground. After this, Beerus says something noteworthy.

We can infer from this that a God of Destruction is not born, but is made into one by qualification. This means that even Mortals can become a G.O.D. A Mortal doesn’t have God ki but Destroyers like Beerus has. Prior to claiming the position of a G.O.D, his teacher Whis probably would have trained him in acquiring more God ki and becoming stronger and crafting him to be a fitting candidate for a Destroyer God. Therefore, we can conclude that a Mortal Saiyan being can achieve Super Saiyan God by obtaining God ki which in turn is acquired by training under an Angel. Vegeta is one such Saiyan who is trained under Whis so it is likely Vegeta tapped into the God form during the training.

Another example is, a Mortal like Toppo was able to generate God Ki because he is the candidate to succeed Belmod as the next Universe 11 G.O.D. Belmod had taught him how to acquire God ki and manipulate it for ki attacks. Belmod was also a Mortal was once a Pride Trooper and he claimed the title of Destroyer God from his predecessor.

In episode 27 of Dragon Ball Super, Goku said that unlike him, Vegeta obtained the power of a Super Saiyan God without the help from other Saiyans. The Saiyan Prince did it by himself.

This confirms the theory that a Saiyan doesn’t necessarily need the ritual in order to achieve the God form. It can be done by sufficient training as well.

The Super Saiyan God ritual might be just a shortcut to obtaining God ki temporarily. When the four Saiyans and Videl instilled their energy into Goku, it is artificially condensed inside his body. That energy also acts as a temporary source of power, which is why it runs out after some time. However, he has learned to tap into God ki by training, which became his permanent asset.

How did Vegeta learn to tap into God Ki and achieve Super Saiyan God?

Vegeta was able to tap into God ki because Whis taught him how to do so. In Resurrection ‘F’ movie or in episode 18 of Dragon Ball Super, while explaining Goku and Vegeta’s main weaknesses, Whis reveals a key detail.

He mentions that both Goku and Vegeta need to teach every part of their bodies to respond on their own, without thinking a lot. Overthinking limits the fighting speed. It takes time for the senses and brain commands to reach every part of the body. This is the secret of obtaining God ki. By calming the mind and removing unnecessary thoughts, the life energy or ki becomes more smooth and refined, making it pure or divine like. The mastery of this technique enables the body parts to think on its own and this is known as Ultra Instinct.

One can acquire more ki through physical and mental training. The level at which one calms down the mind even further and removes unnecessary thoughts during the training or combat defines the amount of increased ki getting converted into God ki. The “controlling and calming the mind” technique mentioned here is not the same as image training or the technique of focusing on one’s ki to amplify it. More information about God ki and how it differs from regular ki will be given in another article.

By increasing and containing the God ki within one’s body and preventing it from leaking out, it increases the person’s power and thus enabling him to harness and manipulate it for his advantage. In episode 20, Seeing Goku and Vegeta’s energy escaping their bodies, Whis instructs them to contain it within them. Goku and Vegeta then began to clear their mind of thoughts to some extent and started to focus on their energies, stopping it from seeping out.

With this state of body and mind, they began to clash and when their fists collided against each other, a wave of blue aura leaked out from the impact. This was the first glimpse of Super Saiyan Blue but Vegeta couldn’t have achieved this feat without acquiring the Super Saiyan God form first. So, Whis would have given similar instructions to Vegeta once before, probably during the 6 months prior to Goku coming to Beerus’s planet. While practicing this along with his intense training, he would have started to acquire God ki and achieve Super Saiyan God.

This is supported by the fact that when Whis returned with Goku to Beerus’s world, Vegeta could sense the Angel approaching the planet.

Prior to this, he couldn’t sense Whis’s presence at all when the latter was on Earth, helping himself with various delicacies suggested by Bulma.

In episode 22, Whis transports both Goku and Vegeta to another dimension, which resembles the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. By applying Whis’s lesson and training more and more, they were soon able to surpass Super Saiyan God and ascend to the next level.

What do you think of Vegeta’s ability to obtain the God form without the ritual? Will he one day be able to finally Surpass Goku once and for all, being the prodigy that he is? Let us know in the comments below!