DBFZ/Adult Gohan

Overview

Adult Gohan is a slick, flashy character with incredible pressure and great damage output. Designed to be a strong character, words from the developers themselves, he is a beast in the right hands. Gohan's equipped with fantastic one-of-a-kind normals and an install super: Potential UnleashedGuardAllStartup9+3Recovery44Advantage-29, allowing him to get stronger and stronger as the match progresses. Using this super, Gohan can unlock various upgrades such as seemingly eternal blockstrings ripe with stagger potential, buffs on all special moves with significant properties, and even more eruptive damage output.

Simple, yet with a tremendously high skill ceiling, Adult Gohan is for players who want to seek how much of themselves they can express through a character, and one that offers near endless space to improve.

Adult Gohan Adult Gohan is a crafty, pressure-oriented character who powers-up to create an overwhelming presence that smothers his opponents.

Pros

Cons

Potential Unleashed!: Gohan becomes increasingly more powerful as he levels up, with Level 7 being widely considered the strongest character in the game.
Stagger Pressure: Among the best stagger pressure in the game with many points where Gohan can reset his strings. This gets even scarier at Level 5 and up, as he can end any of his strings with ±0 on block 2L or -2 3L.
Mix-ups: A toolkit filled to the brim with mix-up options. High/low with 5L and j.L, left/right with j.S and j.M or with Level 1 214LGuardHighStartup24~32 [20~28] {1}Recovery11Advantage-3/MGuardHighStartup28~36 [22~30] {1}Recovery11Advantage-3, sprinkle in some fast fallsGuardStartupRecoveryTotal: Until L+9Advantage- in there. Have we mentioned F-Shiki Sometimes known as "Fuzzy Overhead". When you are in blockstun, you can switch high/low blocking, but your blocking animation and hurtbox does not change until you leave blockstun or block another attack. F-Shikis take advantage of this and use overheads that would miss on crouching characters, but not on standing characters. setups at Level 3?
Combo: Gohan's tools enable lots of creativity in combos that lead into extremely high damage and meter gain, such as his iconic leg loops and Level 5 reverse beat combos.
Reversal: His M and H DPGuardAllStartup16~18Recovery40Advantage-37 travels near half-screen at Level 1 and can be made safe on block at Level 7. Gohan does not hold back, literally.
Slippery: 2S and j.S are lightning fast pseudo-backdashes, allowing him to instantly escape pressure or disengage from his strings when the situation isn't in his favor.
Assist Variety: All 3 of his assist choices fill different niches, this should make him a friendly teammate to put on any team...

Potential Unleashed.: Level 0 Gohan is a struggle. So despite being a point character that benefits greatly from having assists, it's often necessary to put him at mid or anchor so he can enter the battlefield leveled up through DHC or special tag.
Potential Unleashed..: As a super move, Potential Unleashed has comparatively low damage, and the short range can make it whiff on some DHCs.
Potential Unleashed...: The level indicator only shows up when he uses the super. Players need to be cognizant of Gohan's current level, or else risk dropping a combo with the wrong route.
Neutral: Lacking in full-screen presence and has next to no approach tools. Without assists, he will have to work extra hard to get in.

Level 1 and up is indicated by a faint lightning effect on Gohan's idle animation

Every time Potential Unleashed is used, Adult Gohan will level up, improving his abilities and damage. He begins every match at Level 0, and can gain up to 7 levels. Potential Unleashed bonuses remain for the rest of the match.

Level 1 Moveset Changes

Ground L Super Combo is modified.
New move: Machine Gun Punch.
Jet Uppercut: Light version becomes faster and has less recovery. Medium and Heavy versions travel further horizontally for the first hit.
Machine Gun Kick:

Attacks more rapidly
Medium and Heavy versions travel further when forward input is held.
Heavy version is active for longer and deals twice as many hits after hitting the opponent.

Ultimate Back Attack: Teleports on startup, tracks opponent anywhere on screen.
Masenko: Gains 2 additional hits.

Additional Changes

Medium Jet Uppercut gains 1 additional hit per level from Level 1 to 3.
Heavy Jet Uppercut gains 1 additional hit per level from Level 1 to 7.
All attack's damage is increased by 2% per level from Level 2 to 6. Total damage increased is 10% at Level 6.
At Level 3, Gohan gains a second airdash. This allows him to jump and airdash twice, or double jump and then airdash, but he cannot airdash and then double jump.
At Level 5, Gohan can cancel any normals into any other normals that hasn't been used in the string ("Reverse Beat").
At Level 7, Gohan can cancel his specials into other specials.

Adult Gohan

Unique Movement Options
j.2S Double Airdash (at Level 3+)
Fastest Attacks

Reversals

Normal Moves

5L

Version	Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block
5L	400×2	Low, All		6	3(5)3	11	-2
5LL Level 0	100×4	All		9	1{(2)1}×3	17	-2
5LLL Level 0	1000	All	U3+	11	2	19	-5

5L

Really short range.
First hit has a small hitbox coming from Gohan's foot.

One of the best 5Ls in the game due to it's fast startup and non-suspecting low-hit property.

Everyone has been hit by this move.

5LL

Mostly combo filler.

Can be a good meaty against a delay tech. After a safe jump off a sliding knockdown, continuing to mash light (5LL) can catch mashing or put them on block.

5LLL

Counts as grounded.
Smash hit can link to j.L.

Rarely used, but still has a decent hitbox.

Version	Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block
5L	400×2	Low, All		6	3(5)3	11	-2
5LL Level 1+	450	All		7	6	20	-10
5LLL Level 1+	450	All		6	2	20	-6
5LLLL Level 1+	450	All		7	3	13	±0
5LLLLL Level 1+	1000	All	U3+	11	2	19	-5

5LL is equivalent to 5M.
- Level 5: If 5M has already been used in a string, autocombo reverts back to level 0 version.

Does less damage and has worse scaling than the move it copies.

5LLL is equivalent to 3H, though doesn't have Head invul.
- Launches on hit.
- Level 5: If 3H has already been used in a string, this attack will not come out and the autocombo ends at 5LL. If 5LLL has been used, 3H cannot be used in the same string.
- Can be used to reset pressure due to it having the same frame advantage as 2L.

Unlike other autocombo normals, 5LLLL and 2L can be used in the same string, giving him fantastic pressure capabilities.

5LLLLL launches higher than Level 0 5LLL.

5M

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
700	All		9	4	20	-8

Fantastic range.

Large normal that covers an extraordinary amount of space relative to how fast the startup is, and is an amazing whiff-punish. The range can also be a downside as it's pretty punishable if Adult Gohan whiffs himself.

Unlike most of the cast who preserve their 5M to allow jump cancels from 2M, you can use this 5M much more liberally as 3H is also a jump cancellable combo launcher.

5H

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
850 / 1000	All	U1	11	6	18	-8

Great horizontal range, will hit at round start distance.
Wall bounces on Smash hit.

The fastest 5H in the game.

5S

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
800	All		17	4	25	-2

Covers about 90% of the screen. Launches on hit.
Whiffs against crouching opponents.
- Hits crouching opponents up close.
Doesn't have Ki blast property.

Hits a lot higher than you'd expect. Used in corner combos and to start Leg Loops.

2L

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
500	All		7	3	13	±0

Fairly disjointed hitbox.

Far reaching and being +0 encourages strong stagger pressure.

Along with the fair pushback, it has the ability to potentially make his mediums frametrap for big punishes.

2M

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
700	Low		12	9	17	-10

Slides forward about half-screen.
Launches on hit.

Can punish backdash and link into 5M or 3H. Will often put you right back on the opponent after being reflected.

2H

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
850 / 1000	All	U1+	14	3	27	-16	4-18 Head

Smash hit launches higher with more hitstun.
Puts Adult Gohan in the air, true blockstring into j.236X.

Great anti-air and offensive tool on block compared to other 2Hs, as it leads into pressure with j.236X.

2S

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
600	All		12 [9]		Total 36 [Total 33]	-4

Pulls back and fires a Ki blast.

Useful to disengage and return to neutral, although locks Adult Gohan in place for a while and can lose bad to an instant Super Dash. Use it only when your opponent won't anticipate it.

Has enough hitstun to combo into SD in the corner for the universal Leg Loops version.

6M

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
850	High		24	6	4+6L	±0

Universal overhead.
Uses the same animation and hitbox/hurtbox as j.H.

Can be made plus by delaying Level 1 autocombo.

3L

Machine Gun Punch (Hold OK)

Version	Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
3L	80×4	All		9	1{(2)1}×3	17	-2
3[L]	80×9	All		9	1{(2)1}×8	17	-2

Available at Level 1 Potential Unleashed.
Holding L adds extra hits.

Good blockstring filler, great stagger/pressure reset tool with being -2 on block and can be shortened/extended. Is also a good meaty against a delay tech.

Scales subsequent damage pretty bad after a light starter because of its many hits, and some combos would do more omitting it entirely.

3H

Ultimate High Kick

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
700	All		8	4	18	-6	6-11 Head

Launches on hit.
Jump cancellable on hit.

Extremely handy combo filler while possessing an abnormally high angle. Decent hitstun and jump cancellable means this is basically a second, better 5M for combo purposes. This is also an anti-air, and can be used in the place of 2H, but must be ready to combo after landing it immediately, as there isn't ample time to hit-confirm before the opponent techs out.

j.L

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
400	High		6	5	10

Bad horizontal range but great vertical range.

Go-to overhead normal. Will whiff after a j.M if it didn't hit near the body.

j.M

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
700	High		9	4	16

Great air-to-air normal.

j.H

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
850 / 1000	High	D1+ [D3+]	11	4	20

5LLLLLLL Dynamic hit can wall bounce.
j.H causes a sliding knockdown on Smash hit.
Can be cancelled into j.2S fastfall on hit, giving extra time to set-up.

While sending the enemy down, it can combo into j.236L with the right positioning. This is the core idea of his leg loops.

Like j.M, can be used for cross-ups on smaller characters due to it's fast startup and long range.

j.S

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
600	All		9		Total 26+5L

Air 2S.

Similar to the ground version, it can also combo into SD and Ultimate Back Attack.

j.2H

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
850	All	U1+	11	3	19

Smash hit launches higher with more hitstun.
One of the fastest j.2Hs in the game, allowing your combos to be just a hair longer due to less hitstun decay.

Can be linked into off of Level 1 j.236M in BnBs, allowing for a sliding knockdowns with Level 1 j.214L/H.

j.2S

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
					Total: Until L+9

Falls straight to the ground.
Mix-up potential with resources.

Can be used after j.H in the corner for a tiny bit more oki time, and also help with assist extensions on the ground like with beams post j.H. Not too strong as a standalone mix-up tool since it's reactable, but it gives another layer to Adult Gohan's already strong pressure, especially if your opponent is respecting said pressure. You can also DP right after if you know your opponent wont react instantly/mash.

Special Moves

Jet Uppercut

236L/M/H

Version	Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
236L Level 0	900	All		9	8	25+12L	-33	1-16 Head
236M Level 0	600×2 / 600×2,150	All	U1+	16	4(7)9	40	-37	1-19 All
236H Level 0	600,800 / 600,800,150	All	U1+	9	4(7)10	43	-41	1-12 All

236L

Anti-air DP.
Unscaled starter.

Common TOD confirm. Can punish an imperfect safejump, like most 9-frame DPs.

236M

Smash on first hit. Potential Unleashed extra hits only apply if the first hit connects.
Level 0 takes a tiny step forward.
Level 1+ slides half screen forward. Moves far enough to catch backdash.
Each level adds an additional hit, up to 3 extra hits for level 3+.

Used for his Level 7 loops, 5H > 236S > 236M scales almost nothing.

236H

Almost identical to M version with slightly more damage, startup, and range.
Can link into any super after landing.
Each level adds an additional hit, up to 7 extra hits for level 7.

Version	Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
236L Level 1+	900	All		7	8	19	-15	1-14 Head
236M Level 1+	600×2 / 600×2,150×2~4	All	U1+	16~18	4(7)9	40	-37	1-19~21 All
236H Level 1+	600,800 / 600,800,150×2~8	All	U1+	9~13	4(7)10	43	-41	1-12~16 All

236L

Anti-air DP.
Unscaled starter.

Common TOD confirm. Can punish an imperfect safejump, like most 9-frame DPs.

236M

Smash on first hit. Potential Unleashed extra hits only apply if the first hit connects.
Level 0 takes a tiny step forward.
Level 1+ slides half screen forward. Moves far enough to catch backdash.
Each level adds an additional hit, up to 3 extra hits for level 3+.

Used for his Level 7 loops, 5H > 236S > 236M scales almost nothing.

236H

Almost identical to M version with slightly more damage, startup, and range.
Can link into any super after landing.
Each level adds an additional hit, up to 7 extra hits for level 7.

Machine Gun Kick

j.236L/M (Hold OK) or j.236H

Version	Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block
j.236L Level 0	250×3~N	All		7	2{(3)2}×2~N	12	-4
j.236M Level 0	250×3~N	All		13	2{(3)2}×2~N	12	-4
j.236H Level 0	50×10 / 50×10,700	All	U1+	11	2{(2)2}×9	12	+1

j.236L

Upon using, Adult Gohan immediately starts falling down.
Hold L/M/H to kick indefinitely until landing. Minimum 3 kicks.
Carries all and any momentum.
Keeps grounded opponent standing.

Is the "leg" in leg loops.

j.236M

Upon using, Adult Gohan stalls a bit before falling down.
Hold L/M/H to kick indefinitely until landing. Minimum 3 kicks.
Always moves Adult Gohan forward, holding 4 and 6 can shorten or lengthen the distance respectively.
Launches on hit.

Primarily used to manually side-switch in the air after leveling up, and adds a tiny bit more damage/meter in bnb combos.

j.236H

Upon using, Adult Gohan jumps up a bit before falling down, leading into further combo extensions.
Always moves Adult Gohan forward, holding {4} and {6} can shorten/lengthen the distance respectively.
Performs 10 (19) kicks until he touches the opponent, at which point he will do it again, ensuring that the damage is always the same.
Smash on the last hit, and causes a wall bounce.

Extremely active, spectacular against Super Dash and Raw Tag. Eating a raw j.236H equals to losing 40% HP with a standard post-j.236H combo. On block, Adult Gohan stays airborne, and can sneak in a j.L that is susceptible to anti-airs, but can be countered alternatively with an OS reflect.

Version	Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block
j.236L Level 1+	250×3~N	All		7	1{(2)1}×2~N	11	-4
j.236M Level 1+	250×3~N	All		13	1{(2)1}×2~N	11	-4
j.236H Level 1+	50×19 / 50×19,700	All	U1+	11	1{(2)1}×16	13	+1

j.236L

Upon using, Adult Gohan immediately starts falling down.
Hold L/M/H to kick indefinitely until landing. Minimum 3 kicks.
Carries all and any momentum.
Keeps grounded opponent standing.

Is the "leg" in leg loops.

j.236M

Upon using, Adult Gohan stalls a bit before falling down.
Hold L/M/H to kick indefinitely until landing. Minimum 3 kicks.
Always moves Adult Gohan forward, holding 4 and 6 can shorten or lengthen the distance respectively.
Launches on hit.

Primarily used to manually side-switch in the air after leveling up, and adds a tiny bit more damage/meter in bnb combos.

j.236H

Upon using, Adult Gohan jumps up a bit before falling down, leading into further combo extensions.
Always moves Adult Gohan forward, holding {4} and {6} can shorten/lengthen the distance respectively.
Performs 10 (19) kicks until he touches the opponent, at which point he will do it again, ensuring that the damage is always the same.
Smash on the last hit, and causes a wall bounce.

Extremely active, spectacular against Super Dash and Raw Tag. Eating a raw j.236H equals to losing 40% HP with a standard post-j.236H combo. On block, Adult Gohan stays airborne, and can sneak in a j.L that is susceptible to anti-airs, but can be countered alternatively with an OS reflect.

Ultimate Back Attack

214L/M/H (Air OK)

Version	Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block
214L Level 0	1000	High	D1	24	8	11	-3
214M Level 0	1100	High	D1	28	8	11	-3
214H Level 0	1200	High	D1	26	8	11	-3
j.214L Level 0	900	High	D1	24	8	13
j.214M Level 0	1000	High	D1	28	8	13
j.214H Level 0	1100	High	D1	26	8	13

Level 0: Hops almost half screen. Ground version never crosses-up, air versions cross up if Adult Gohan leaps over the opponent.
Level 1: Teleports to the opponent.
Can't steal the corner.

214L

Smash hit causes a sliding knockdown.

Level 0: j.S > j.214L in the corner is the primary way of utilizing this in combos.

Level 1: j.2H > j.214L gets Adult Gohan a sliding knockdown anywhere.

214M

Smash hit causes a sliding knockdown.
Switches sides anywhere outside of the corner.

Grants more okizeme than the light version but is trickier to combo into, and requires the combo to not to be too high up.

214H

Smash hit causes a ground-bounce sliding knockdown.
Switches sides anywhere outside of the corner.

Level 0: j.S > j.214H allows the ability for Potential Unleashed to hit and consequently level up anywhere on the screen from Level 0.

Level 1: Allows him to extend into advanced combos by inputting j.M/j.L right before landing, virtually becoming an extreme form of a rejump combo.

Version	Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
214L Level 1+	1000	High	D1	24~32 [20~28] {1}	8	11	-3	8-12~20 All
214M Level 1+	1100	High	D1	28~36 [22~30] {1}	8	11	-3	6-10~18 All
214H Level 1+	1200	High	D1	26~34 [20~28] {1}	8	11	-3	6-10~18 All
j.214L Level 1+	900	High	D1	24~32 [20~28] {1}	8	11	-3	8-12~20 All
j.214M Level 1+	1000	High	D1	28~36 [22~30] {1}	8	11	-3	6-10~18 All
j.214H Level 1+	1100	High	D1	26~34 [20~28] {1}	8	11	-3	8-12~20 All

Level 0: Hops almost half screen. Ground version never crosses-up, air versions cross up if Adult Gohan leaps over the opponent.
Level 1: Teleports to the opponent.
Can't steal the corner.

214L

Smash hit causes a sliding knockdown.

Level 0: j.S > j.214L in the corner is the primary way of utilizing this in combos.

Level 1: j.2H > j.214L gets Adult Gohan a sliding knockdown anywhere.

214M

Smash hit causes a sliding knockdown.
Switches sides anywhere outside of the corner.

Grants more okizeme than the light version but is trickier to combo into, and requires the combo to not to be too high up.

214H

Smash hit causes a ground-bounce sliding knockdown.
Switches sides anywhere outside of the corner.

Level 0: j.S > j.214H allows the ability for Potential Unleashed to hit and consequently level up anywhere on the screen from Level 0.

Level 1: Allows him to extend into advanced combos by inputting j.M/j.L right before landing, virtually becoming an extreme form of a rejump combo.

Masenko

236S

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
262×5	All		18	25	21	-16

Standard beam at Level 0, but becomes the highest damage beam at Level 1+.
Even at Level 1+, it will still clash with typical 5-hit beams.

Mostly used after DR ender in the corner. Not having an air version hurts its spacing potential quite badly.

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
262×7	All		18	33	21	-16

Standard beam at Level 0, but becomes the highest damage beam at Level 1+.
Even at Level 1+, it will still clash with typical 5-hit beams.

Mostly used after DR ender in the corner. Not having an air version hurts its spacing potential quite badly.

Z Assists

Assist A

Jet Uppercut

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
800	All		18	8	64	+29	10-? Head

Receives the damage buff from Potential Unleashed.
Head invulnerable.
Tied with Krillin's A assist for the fastest assist in the game.

The prototypical DP assist.

Assist B

Machine Gun Punch

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
150×8	All		30	21		+45

Decent startup.
High blockstun.

Good blockstring assist, simple to hit confirm.

Hits a little higher than it seems.

Assist C

Masenko

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
200×5 / 200×5, 400	All		33 [20]	25		+30

It's a beam assist. Go wild.

Super Moves

Potential Unleashed

236L+M or 236H+S (Hold OK)

Version	Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
236L+M	1645	All	UDV	9+3	10	44	-29	9-16 All
236H+S	1645 → 2043 → 2300 → 2568 → 2804 → 3015 → 3204	All	UDV	9+3	10	44	-29	9-16 All

Potential Unleashed's effects are listed below the overview section (At the top)
H+S version can be held to stack up to 7 Ki Gauges, but L+M version only ever consumes 1 Ki Gauge, meaning you can't DHC into him and dump bars.
Damage bonus from Potential Unleashed is applied to this super during the freeze as Adult Gohan reaches the next level(s).
Minimum damage: 658 and increase by 200 with each level. It is not affected by Potential Unleashed levels

Because of the short recovery, Adult Gohan can possibly combo post-Super, or even set up solid post-Super oki with help. More notably, it can be used to DHC into from other supers that are still active. For example, Potential Unleashed lets Adult Gohan recover fast enough to set up for safejump 50/50s if he DHCs in during an ongoing level 1, like Kid Buu's Pearl Flash, Vegeta's Galick Gun, or Jiren's Colossal Slash. Important note, he must DHC in right at the moment when the other character's super had just been activated to enable the okizeme.

Bros. Kamehameha

214L+M or 214H+S

Damage	Guard	Smash	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
190×24	All	UDV	9+3	101	50	-34	1-19 All

Minimum damage: 70*24 (1680).
Hitbox can increase/decrease depending on who is on the team, but damage stays the same.

Leaving Adult Gohan pretty close to the opponent and being around +40 after hit, you can go for Superjump > IAD > High/Low for a relatively ambiguous 50/50 mix.

(Mostly Cosmetic): If Gotenks is on his team, Adult Gohan will perform it solo. If Gotenks is not on his team, Goten will come out to help. If Gotenks is not on his team, and SS Goku is on his team and is not on screen from an assist or Ultimate Z Change, Goku will come out to help. If Adult Gohan swaps bodies with Ginyu, he will only ever do the solo version.