Fanfic / What If Raditz Turned Good?

So many things that could've been, so many things I haven't seen!

"What if this first fight in Z ended rather differently?"

—MasakoX

What If Raditz Turned Good? is a Dragon Ball What If? fanfic by Lawrence Simpson aka MasakoX of Team Four Star fame as part of his Dragon Ball Discussion series of Youtube videos. This particular topic started on April 17th, 2017, as the sixth entry in the series.

As the title suggests, he explores his interpretation of an alternate version of the story where Raditz actually survives his first encounter with Goku and Piccolo and ultimately joins forces with them and the other Z-Warriors, through the incoming threats of the series. As of the end of 2019, the story has covered all of Dragon Ball Z (with two separate videos covering the changes to its 13 movies), Dragon Ball Super (including Dragon Ball Super: Broly), and most of Dragon Ball GT. In early 2019, Masako decided to Retcon the Future Trunks timeline, feeling that he'd missed an opportunity in the original videos by leaving it the same as in the manga.

The topic proved immensely popular with Dragon Ball fans, who likewise helped with input, so much that not only did they provide fan work of Raditz's powered up forms as well as images of his daughter, Ranch, but likewise have a Deviantart page dedicated to it.

It was later announced there will be a audio drama for it developed by Masako, with it going under the title Dragon Ball R&R ^note Raditz and Ranch. It takes place between the Buu saga and the Battle of the Gods saga in Super.

You can find the playlist for it here, with the playlist for R&R being here.

See also Masako X - Dragon Ball What-If which explores other possibilities in the Dragon Ball verse.

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What If Raditz Turned Good? has the following tropes:

• A Day in the Limelight: Most of the R&R episodes focus on the main Z team. 6.5 focuses on Mercenary Tao, the Pilaf gang and Android 21.
• Action Girl:
  • Ranch, as the daughter of Raditz and Launch, is quite the badass, learning all the Super Saiyan forms, up to Super Saiyan 4. Surprisingly, she doesn't get a Blue form, like her father.
  • Caulifla and Kale as well, being friendly rivals to Ranch.
  • R&R episode 6, after a device that incapacitates all of the stronger fighters and makes them unable to do ki attacks is activated, Mercenary Tao and the Pilaf gang smugly take credit for it, but Chi-Chi, Launch and Bulma are unaffected by it, and Chi-Chi and Launch hold off Tao, while Bulma builds a nullifier of the nullifier.
• Adaptation Expansion: The Shadow Dragons get expanded upon a bit, with it being explained they're not created by the negative energy, but summoned by it and have existed for far longer. Nuova and Eis's fusion implies they've been around for so long that they remember the Metamorans and why they died.
• Adaptational Badass:
  • Raditz, given that it and the Adaptational Heroism below are the entire point of the fic. While he was strong at the time of his introduction to the point of forcing Goku and Piccolo to pull an Enemy Mine and for Goku to sacrifice himself to defeat him, he was quickly overshadowed by Nappa, Vegeta, Frieza, and every other villain after him. Here, not only does he survive, but also plays a major role in the story by becoming a Z Fighter.
  • Piccolo is stronger during the Freeza saga, due to going alongside Goku to Namek, reaching a power level of 82,000 and making his fusion with Nail even stronger, so that he can even best 3rd form Freeza. Later, during the Cell saga, he has a full year in the Room of Spirit and Time training with Raditz, meaning he can hold his own against the Cell Jr.'s even better.
  • Goten and Trunks are able to reach Super Saiyan 2 by the time of Super. Goten gets Super Saiyan Blue by the time of GT and Trunks gets Super Saiyan 4.
  • Haze Shenron gets his Super form from Dragon Ball Heroes, making him far more powerful and forcing Goten and Trunks to fuse in order to defeat him.
  • Eis manages to defeat Vegeta one on one and he and Nuova prove a much more threatening than in canon. They also absorb a Dragon Ball a piece, allowing them to transform into a more powerful form. They then fuse together using the Fusion Dance, which while it doesn't last for long, they each absorb three of them a piece.
  • Shin/Omega Shenron is immensely powerful, enough to curbstomp Hit and all the Universe 7 Saiyans at once. He's so powerful that even Beerus and Champa begin to be nervous about him. He then takes it a step further by wishing on the Super Dragon Balls to become a Dragon God, becoming something akin to Black Smoke Shenron, only on the scale of Super Shenron.
• Adaptational Early Appearance:
  • In R&R Episode 6, Young Shuu makes a appearance as a spy for Tao.
  • In R&R Episode 6.5, young Pilaf and Mai make an appearance, along with Android 21.
• Adaptational Heroism:
  • Pretty much the point of the fic, as it focuses on Raditz undergoing a Heel–Face Turn. The series is literally titled "What if Raditz Turned Good," so this was somewhat of a given.
  • It's also explained that Shadow Dragons corrupted by the selfish wishes and their true purpose isn't to destroy the world, but to take the corrupted Dragon Balls to the Super Dragon Balls to be purified.
  • Shin/Syn Shenron's motives are also expanded upon: he desires to use the Super Dragon Balls to make a wish in order to punish mortals and prevent this from happening again.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Vegeta in this version. His rivalry with Raditz brings out the worst in him and, due to a few changed events, he doesn't learn humility. Even when Bra is on the way to be born, he hardly seems to care. He eventually mellows out once he and Raditz finally settle their rivalry.
• Adapted Out:
  • Kid Buu and Fused Zamasu don't appear in this story because Super Buu, Goku Black and Zamasu are defeated before they get to transform or fuse.
  • Frieza doesn't compete in the Tournament of Power because everyone else rejects Goku's idea of asking him, and Ranch volunteers to be the 10th fighter before Goku can go against everyone's wishes and ask Frieza anyway.
  • The GT era skips Super 17, going straight to the Shadow Dragons once Baby is defeated.
• Allohistorical Allusion: In Part 3 of the GT storyline, when Raditz finds out that Ranch has been possessed by Baby, he tries to find the bright side by remarking "At least he didn't possess Vegeta, then we'd be in real trouble!"
• Always Identical Twins: Averted. Daikon and Muuli as well as Balsa and Gretta are never stated to be identical.
• Always Someone Better:
  • For a while (up 'til part 10) Raditz was this to Vegeta. He got Super Saiyan before Vegeta, got to train with Whis, obtained Super Saiyan Blue, and it was Raditz who killed Frieza.
  • Frieza himself was like this to his older brother Cooler as revealed in part 13.
• Amazonian Beauty: Future Ranch is described as being 6'/183cm and well-built, and certainly has Future Trunks' eye. Adult Ranch from GT also qualifies, since she's muscular, but still cute in official merchandise for her. We also get to see adult Ranch in R&R episode 8.
• And I Must Scream: Future Zamasu is spaghettified across time and space, stretched so thin across history he effectively ceases to exist, in incomprehensible agony...but isn't dead because he's immortal.
• Angst Coma: Future Ranch is in one, after Goku Black kills her and Future Trunks' children.
• Ascended Extra:
  • In the source material, Launch was diagnosed with Chuck Cunningham Syndrome after the Saiyan Saga simply because Toriyama forgot about her. Here? She's the one Raditz ends up marrying and starting a family with.
  • Raditz himself- in canon, he showed up for only a few chapters, died, and never got mentioned again until Super did an episode where he showed up as an illusion to taunt Krillin- decades later both in-universe and out. Here... well, he's literally the title character of this story.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Raditz and Gohan both become Great Apes at the same time, and as a result, both of them clash. Although Raditz is more in control, Gohan has more raw power, which results in the fight being a draw (with only Piccolo destroying the moon preventing the fight from getting out of hand).
• Badass Family: Bardock's sons realize their full potential, and trains their respective children to be formidable fighters themselves.
• Baseball Episode: Episode 4 of R&R focuses on Yamcha and his baseball career. A lot of it also consists of Goku and Raditz being bored stiff.
• Bash Brothers:
  • Both Goku and Raditz fight together on a lot of occasions and ultimately become this.
  • Future Ranch and Future Trunks are this against Sibling Team Androids 17 and 18, earning some Villain Respect from them. They have feelings for each other, but aren't quite a Battle Couple, yet.
• Batman Gambit: In R&R episode 6, Raditz and Chiaotzu conspire to help Tien's dojo. Outside the dojo, Chiaotzu mouths off to Raditz, who smacks him with his tail. Tien then starts fighting Raditz, with it taking to the skies after a short time. The fight gains the attention of the nearby town. Raditz then goes Super Saiyan, and lets his guard down, with Tien taking him out. Though it turns out he threw the fight to generate more respect for Tien. It worked and Tien's dojo got a lot of new recruits.
• Battle Couple: Future Trunks and Future Ranch become this, eventually, defeating Dabura and Babidi handily and then later fighting Goku Black.
• Behemoth Battle: During the Saiyan arc, both Gohan and Raditz end up looking at the moon and turning into Oozaru, leading into them duking it out with each other. Raditz has the advantage due to his experience before Piccolo destroys the moon.
• Berserk Button:
  • Raditz gets riled up whenever someone insults his family, be it directly or indirectly. Vegeta uses this to his advantage during their final bout so Raditz will stop holding back and start fighting seriously.
  • Even worse is if you actually harm his family. In the revised story, Future Raditz died because the Androids killed Future Launch and he launched a berserk (but ultimately fruitless) attack against them.
  • Future Ranch is also very protective of her family, once she and Future Trunks have kids. Goku Black kills their kids, Balsa and Gretta, angering Future Ranch so much that she turns into Super Saiyan Rage. She nearly beats Goku Black to death, with him only being saved by Future Zamasu.
• Bond Villain Stupidity: Future Zamasu was so overconfident in his own immortality, that he fell for Future Ranch's trick. His immortality doesn't save him when he gets ejected from the time machine.
• Butt-Monkey: Future Ranch and Raditz beat the shit out of Goku Black 3 separate times for killing Future Ranch and Future Trunks' children.
• Canon Foreigner:
  • Raditz and Launch's kids: daughter Ranch, and twin sons, Daikon and Muuli.
  • Raditto, Raditz and Goku's Potara fusion form and Goditz, their Metamoran fusion form.
  • Raunks, the fusion of Ranch and Trunks, and Ranten, the fusion of Ranch and Goten.
  • Radgeta, Raditz and Vegeta's fusion.
  • Future Ranch and Trunks' kids, Balsa and Gretta.
• Canon Welding: Masako has chosen to continue the story past Super into Dragon Ball GT. GT's canon status has been questionable for years but Masako has stated that, unless Toei releases new material that officially overrides it's timeline, GT is part of the 'What If Raditz Turned Good' universe.
• The Cavalry: In GT Episode 3, Shin brings Cabba, Caulifla and Kale to fight Baby!Ranch and her minions.
• Character Development: Masako has Goten develop into his own character, with a personality a bit like what he displayed in GT, as a result of having Ranch to hang out with and not just spending his childhood being "Trunks' yes-man".
• Childhood Friend Romance: Ranch and Trunks have a bit of hints of this going on, but Future Ranch and Future Trunks are this, being a true example, with them eventually getting married and having twins.
• Chunky Salsa Rule: Future Zamasu is still immortal, but that doesn't save him from getting killed by being stretched to spaghetti-thin and then torn apart by the time vortex.
• Cool vs. Awesome: The way that Vegeta and Raditz settle their differences? Vegeta goes Super Saiyan 4 to fight against Super Saiyan Blue Raditz, a matchup that fans have wanted to see for years. It's a pretty even fight, with a mutual knockout.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Yamcha's manager in episode 4 of R&R is betting on games and trying to fix matches.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: After finding out about Future Zamasu's Complete Immortality, Future Ranch tricks him by giving him the time machine and telling him about other universes that he could massacre. What she doesn't tell him is that the Big Red Button she tells him to press is the emergency escape button and doesn't tell him how to program a new time coordinate. The time machine self-destructs when he presses all the buttons willy-nilly, and he is pulled spaghetti-thin to all time coordinates and then painfully pulled apart. Technically he's not dead...but he wishes he was.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Raditto (the potara fusion of Goku and Raditz) completely dominates Super Buu even more so than Vegito did because 1) Raditto is stronger thanks to his two halves being blood-related, and 2) he doesn’t waste time jerking Buu around and just gets on with kicking his ass six ways from Double Sunday.
  • After he’s reborn at the end of the Goku Black arc, he quickly goes SSB and then obliterates Black with a Double Kamehameha. Poor Black never stood a chance.
  • Ranch and then Raditz quickly get knocked out of the Universe 6 Tournament by Hit.
  • Future Ranch easily defeats Future Imperfect Cell, much like Future Trunks did originally, and then Future Ranch and Trunks handily defeat Dabura and Babidi.
  • Super Saiyan Rage Future Ranch kicks seven shades of shit out of Goku Black after he kills her and Future Trunks' children.
  • Goku Black is on the receiving end of another one after going back in time from Raditz, who doesn't mess around like Goku did and once again kicks Goku Black's ass, with Black lucking out once again by being sucked back to the future.
  • After killing Future Zamasu, Future Ranch then once again methodically beats the crap out of a still injured Goku Black before she, Raditz and Future Trunks vaporize him.
• A Day in the Limelight: Goten in episode 2, Yamcha in episode 4 and Tien in episode 6 of R&R.
• Dead Alternate Counterpart:
  • Raditz is both shocked and depressed by the fact that not only is he dead in Future Trunks’ timeline, but his alternate self died as the same Dirty Coward he was when he first came to Earth. This also means that, by extension, Ranch, Daikon and Muuli don’t exist in that reality either.
  • With the Retconned storyline, Future Raditz and Future Launch were killed by the Androids, but Future Ranch still exists and is Future Trunks' closest ally. However, the twins still don't exist for the same reason.
  • Due to Raditto killing Super Buu and preventing Kid Buu from ever happening, this means Raditto inadvertently prevented Fat Buu from being spat out and thus, Fat Buu is also dead here.
• Death by Adaptation:
  • Since Raditto obliterates Super Buu before he has a chance to eat him, Majin Buu ends up dying along with him.
  • Freeza in this version. After Resurrection F, he stays dead due to everyone shooting down Goku's suggestion to bring him in for the Tournament of Power. Frieza isn't needed as Raditz takes Frieza's place in canon while Ranch takes Tien's place.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Eventually, Vegeta towards Raditz.
  • Part 4 of the "History of Ranch" story has a much delayed version, where the deceased Future Raditz reveals that he was able to hash things out with Nappa in the afterlife, the former Elite teaching Raditz his signature Giant Storm technique out of respect for his power.
• Demoted to Extra:
  • Tien chooses not to compete in the Tournament of Power when Goku tries to scout him, and heavily implies that he should ask Ranch instead. Being as oblivious as he is, Goku doesn't take the hint.
  • For a while, Vegeta^note although this is tame compared to what happens to him in "What if Nappa turned Good?". While he's still present, Raditz takes his role during the fight against Kid Buu onward.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Downplayed, but Raunks defeats Goditz during a sparring match in R&R. This is two adult Saiyans, who are brothers, which makes the fusion even stronger, being defeated by two 8-9 year olds that aren't related.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation:
  • Raditz dies a noble death during the battle against Nappa instead of Piccolo's and Goku's hands. He gets better.
  • Yamcha's first death happened at the hands of Freeza during the battle at Namek instead of a kamikaze attack from a Saibamen during the Saiyan saga.
  • In the Buu saga, Launch dies from either Super Buu's Human Extinction Attack or his Earth-Shattering Kaboom. Here she gets eaten by him at Kami's Lookout like most of the other major characters.
• Dirty Coward: How Masako sees how Raditz starts off. He grows out of it over time.
  • In the retconned Future Trunks timeline, Future Raditz managed to keep a few more people alive because he had absolutely no problem cutting and running when things looked bad, and thus survived far longer than the other Z-Fighters to keep holding them off. That all goes out the window when 17 kills Future Launch, with Raditz getting so enraged that he fights despite being outmatched and ends up dying.
• Divergent Character Evolution: Vegeta gets Super Saiyan 4 instead of Super Saiyan Blue like Goku and Raditz.
• Dope Slap: Raditz gives several to Goku later on in the series, including two in a row once Goku suggests Frieza and then a second when Goku doubts Ranch again.
• Edible Theme Naming: Future Ranch and Trunks' twin son and daughter, Balsa and Gretta, are named after balsamic vinaigrette.
• Enemy Mine: Raditz teams up with Piccolo against Vegeta and Nappa, mostly because Vegeta sees him as a failure and he’s curious about Gohan's power. It ultimately completes his Heel–Face Turn when he hears of Goku's exploits, seeing that a lower class Sayian can actually get more powerful.
• Fallen Hero: The Shadow Dragons are reimagined as this: they're meant to be guardians of the Dragon Balls and purify them if they become tainted. However, they've been corrupted by the negative energy, and many of them deciding to punish mortals rather than do so.
• Fan-Created Offspring: Ranch is the daughter of Raditz and Launch.
• Fix Fic: Masako alters a few things that didn't quite sit well with the fanbase.
  MasakoX: There is no Garlic Jr. Saga, moving on. ^note This is a bit of a Running Gag of MasakoX’s regarding that saga.
  • Also, the Future Trunks arc ends without needing to call Zeno to destroy Zamasu, due to events playing out differently.
  • Seems to be taking this approach to Dragon Ball GT as well. Both by combining elements from Dragon Ball Super (God ki, the multiverse, etc.) and by fixing some of the more contentious parts of GT. Goten is a larger part of the story, Pan is less annoying (which Masako attributes to her having Ranch as a role model) and the Para Para Brothers are Joke Characters only there for one gag.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Raditz is the responsible one to Goku's foolish, given that he uses his head in fights and planning. Case in point, when the brothers fuse into Raditto to fight Super Buu, Raditz is the one who prevents them from screwing around and just kills Buu before he can turn into Kid Buu. He also makes sure that when they venture to Future Trunks' time to confront Goku Black and Zamasu, they bring plenty of Senzu Beans and the seal for the Mafuba (which in canon Super, Goku forgot), and knowing how dangerous Black is, Raditz tells Goku to fuse with him in order to kill Black for good.
• Forgiveness:
  • Raditz dying to protect Gohan and the other Z-Fighters allowed Goku to forgive his brother after his revival.
  • While not stated, it's apparent that his nephew Gohan forgave Raditz for kidnapping him initially, too.
  • In the finale Super Shenron and later normal Shenron forgive the Z-Fighters for overusing the Dragon Balls and corrupting the Shadow Dragons with the former even helping the Z-Fighters to kill Black Smoke Shenron.
• For Want Of A Nail: Raditz's redemption changes a great deal of the plot. To be specific:
  • Saiyan Saga: Aside from the obvious (Raditz not dying in the fight against Piccolo and Goku, and becoming a good guy), Raditz trains with Gohan and Piccolo, and the other Z Fighters are brought on board, which eventually allows Yamcha and Tien to survive the attack of the Saiyans (and the Saibamen attacks weren't as fatal). Raditz and Gohan fight each other as great apes. Raditz proves to be a match for Nappa, and Raditz also sacrifices himself so Piccolo doesn't have to die.
  • Namek Saga: The initial premise is largely the same (the main difference being the goal is reviving Raditz, (and Chiaotzu) instead of Tien, Yamcha, and Piccolo), up until the arrival of the Ginyu Force; however, Yamcha goes with the gang since he's still alive; Piccolo, who's still alive at this point, goes with Goku to Namek in a space ship, and as such, they take the opportunity to train together, resulting in both being much stronger by the time they arrive at Namek (the power boost is estimated to be 10x from the training, as opposed to 9x in canon); Yamcha gets his potential unlocked; Piccolo kills Jeice, and fights Ginyu-possessed Goku in place of Vegeta; Piccolo isn't as disoriented when he fuses with Nail; Raditz joins in with Vegeta getting his self-inflicted Zenkai boost (Yamcha joining in), with the resulting power increase giving Goku enough time to fully recover; Vegeta isn't fatally wounded before he can tell Goku what Frieza did to the Saiyans; Raditz transforms into his Great Ape form, distracting Freeza while Goku charges the Spirit Bomb; and Vegeta survives.
  • Android Saga: Raditz trains with Goku, Piccolo, and Gohan, resulting in him being able to achieve Super Saiyan Grade 2 early, and as a result, he kills 19 before he has his heart attack; Raditz marries Launch, and has a daughter (Ranch). Raditz takes Goku home, and later fights Android 17. Vegeta and Raditz come to blows, but Piccolo stops the fight by K.O'ing Vegeta, as Piccolo and Raditz understand each other.
  • Cell Saga: Gohan goes Super Saiyan easier thanks to training with both his father and uncle; Goku touches upon Super Saiyan 3, and they go straight to Super Saiyan Full Power earlier; Raditz and Piccolo train in the ROSAT, moving along quickly, and Piccolo doesn't cut his training short; Raditz and Piccolo both chew out Goku at the same time when Goku sends Gohan out to fight Cell, and Raditz joins Vegeta in distracting Cell during the beam struggle.
  • Buu Saga: Vegeta goes Majin because of his rivalry with Raditz as opposed to wanting a rematch with Goku; Ranch and Goten fuse at first, but Buu absorbs Ranch as well as Goten and Trunks. Goku and Raditz fuse, creating a much more powerful fusion; as a result, they annihilate Super Buu before he turns into Kid Buu.
  • Resurrection of F Saga: Raditz fights Frieza in Vegeta's place and kills him before he can blow up the planet.
  • Future Trunks Saga: Raditz makes sure to bring along the talisman needed to complete the Mafuba; Zamasu gets sealed away, and Goku Black gets finished off by Raditto; since Goku Black and Zamasu didn't fuse, Zeno isn't called in, and they use the Namekian Dragon Balls to fix the damage Zamasu had committed. Vegeta obtains Super Saiyan 4, fights Raditz, and the two finally make amends.
  • Baby possesses Ranch instead of Vegeta because she attempts to blast Baby!Gohan, but gets in the way of Baby's takover of Vegeta.
• Friendly Rivalry: Ranch developed one with Caulifla and, at the start of GT, is in Universe 6 training with her.
• Fusion Dance:
  • Because Ranch studied the Fusion Dance in secret, she and Goten can become Ranten^note Though the scenario didn't allow for it, Masako also had a design ready for Ranch and Trunks' fusion, Raunks. Later on, instead of Vegito, Goku and Raditz use the Potara to become Raditto. These fusions are said to be stronger than their canon counterparts due to both fusees being blood-related, an idea supported in Dragon Ball Super.
  • In R&R episode 1, Ranch and Trunks fuse together to make Raunks and Goku and Raditz use the Metamoran fusion to create Goditz.
  • Instead of Vegeta and Goku fusing against Broly, it's Vegeta and Raditz fusing into Radgeta.
  • Muuli and Daikon fuse into Dali and Caulifla and Kale fuse into Caule in GT Part 3.
  • Nuova and Eis merge together using the Fusion Dance.
• Game Mod: One exists for Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 that adds several characters from Masako's story (Good!Raditz, Raditto, Ranch, Ranten, and DBS!Super Saiyan 4 Vegeta) as well as Goditz, a hypothetical Goku-Raditz Fusion Dance who never appeared in the original story. At least until Masako did videos covering the movies.
• Gone Horribly Right: Goku Black decided to murder Future Trunks and Ranch's children to get to them. It worked, but Ranch goes Super Saiyan Rage and nearly beats him to death. Had Future Zamasu not intervened to save him, the Zero Mortals Plan would've ended then and there.
• Good Parents: Both Raditz and Launch (both her Blonde and Blue-Haired sides) prove to be very encouraging and dedicated parents toward their children.
• Groin Attack: Launch gives one to Tao twice in R&R episode 7.
• Heel–Face Turn: The defining point that starts Raditz's turn to good is during the moment where Goku puts him in a full nelson to ensure that Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon finds its mark. Similar to what happens in the first Xenoverse game, he manages break free just before the beam reaches him. However, unlike the game, he's still injured from the hit Gohan gave him and decides to run for it rather than continue to fight.
  • In Part 4 of the Future Ranch stories, we find out that Goku argued in Raditz's favor, convincing King Yemma to overlook his villainous past thanks to the efforts he made post-face turn. Unfortunately, Yemma's charity only went so far and he refused to likewise grant clemency to Launch, meaning her spirit was purified and sent to Hell for reincarnation.
• Hypocritical Humor: Raditz criticizes Super Saiyan 3 Goku's hair in R&R, saying it looks ridiculous, despite it looking nearly the same as Raditz's hair, just blonde.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Attempted by Raditz and others against Baby!Ranch, to no avail, until Raditz gives a big hug to Ranch.
• Important Haircut: Goten gets one in Episode 2 of R&R, so he no longer has the same hair as Goku.
• Innocently Insensitive: Goku is this towards Ranch a few times, most notably when he decides not to train her how to do the Fusion Dance, since she's a girl and he isn't sure if the fusion dance would work between a girl and a boy. However, due to it being Goku, it sounds like the only reason he excluded her was because she was a girl, which puts a strain on his and Raditz's relationship for a short while. Also, when picking out members for the Universe 7 team, Goku overlooks Ranch for Freeza, and then doubts her capabilities, prompting a couple dope slaps from Raditz when that hurts her feelings.
  • Raditz is this towards Goten, in Episode 2 of R&R who was already worried about looking too much like his dad, causing him to go to different Z characters to see if he should change his hair or what to change it to.
• In Spite of a Nail: Although the presence of Raditz (and later, Ranch) does change the outcomes of several of the sagas, several things play out the same as they do in the series proper:
  • Saiyan Saga: While Tien, Yamcha, and Piccolo survive, Chiaotzu still dies, and the gang still has to go to Namek to use the Namekian dragon balls to bring both Raditz^note who could be brought back using the Earth Dragon Balls...but since Goku was revived, they'd have to wait a year and Chiaotzu^note who was previously revived with the Earth Dragon Balls, so he couldn't be brought back with them even if they hadn't been used to bring back Goku, since he still sacrificed himself back.
  • Namek Saga: the Ginyu Force is still killed off (with Vegeta killing Guldo, Burter, and Recoome), Piccolo still fuses with Nail, Ginyu still swaps bodies with Goku (and the sequence that leads to Ginyu getting trapped in a frog body still happens), Frieza still blows up Namek, and Krillin still dies.
  • Cell Saga: Despite Yamcha having gone to to Namek and being with Bulma, causing their relationship to grow closer than in canon, she still ends up sleeping with Vegeta while he's staying at her place, leading to Trunks being born. Goku still forgets to take his heart medicine, Cell still absorbs Androids 17 and 18 thanks to Vegeta's Saiyan pride, and Goku still has to sacrifice himself.
  • Buu Saga: Vegeta still goes Majin (although for different reasons), and Buu still absorbs Goten and Trunks.
  • Future Trunks Timeline: Still mostly the same as the History of Trunks special, complete with Future Gohan's tragic death at the hands of 17 and 18; the only change is that Future Trunks is a little bit stronger than in canon thanks to starting his training earlier in life (at Raditz's insistence) and having Future Ranch as an ally/sparring partner. Oh, and his sword is broken just before he goes back in time.
• Incredibly Lame Pun: Ranch is fond of these in R&R.
  Ranch:(After Goten has agreed to get his hair cut) Comb with me!
  Goten:(Beat) Bokay!
• Ironic Echo: During the Namek saga, when Vegeta sees Raditz he mocks him with the line "Oh, look it's Raditz. What hole did you crawl out of?". Raditz ignores the taunt due the situation at hand with Frieza. When Goku manages to hit Freeza with the Spirit Bomb (with Raditz's help) and he's seemingly killed, Raditz repeats the line to him, much to Vegeta's charign.
  • In Part 3 of the revised future timeline, Android 18 taunts Trunks by saying she and 17 have something that he and Ranch don't; when Trunks asks what that is, 17 (who snuck up behind him) answers "Teamwork", and lands a sneak attack that incapacitates Trunks. After he and Ranch patch up their differences and train a bit more, they pull the same trick in reverse, with the same taunts and all, to destroy 17.
• Karmic Death: Goku Black, being the mastermind of the Zero Mortals Plan and who planned on fusing with Future Zamasu, is ultimately outdone after his partner is sealed away and he's left at the tender mercies of a Potara-fused Raditz and Goku, who takes a page from his book and reduces him to nothing more than a blast shadow the first chance he gets.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: After dodging Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon, Raditz escapes in the confusion of Goku being hit by it instead. Piccolo doesn't pursue because he's exhausted himself and he's satisfied with having killed Goku. He can wait for Raditz and finish him off later.
• Let's You and Him Fight:
  • Vegeta and Raditz get into a fight during the Android saga when the former finds it funny that Piccolo is now stronger than Raditz (due to having merged with Kami).
  • Happens again in the Majin Buu Saga, this time due to Raditz and Vegeta's rivalry.
  • They ultimately settle it after the Goku Black saga with Vegeta using Blutz Waves to go Super Saiyan 4 in order to match Super Saiyan Blue Raditz.
  • Baby!Ranch possesses Daikon, Muuli, and other Z-Fighters. They then have to fight against Goten, Trunks and other, non-possessed fighters.
• Little Miss Badass: Ranch can get to Super Saiyan by the time she's 7 and fuses with Goten into Ranten and gives a nice battle with Super Buu before being absorbed and knew to use Super Saiyan 2 rather than 3 due to the stamina consumption and the fact it cuts the fusion time down to 5 minutes vs 15 minutes for SSJ2.
  • At 13 years old during the Universe 6 tournament arc, she can reach Super Saiyan 2 and she's the one to defeat Frost, Auta Magetta and Cabba, also teaching Cabba how to go Super Saiyan, before quickly getting knocked out of the ring by Hit. About a year later, she gets Super Saiyan 3 during the Tournament of Power when Caulifla asks her to. However, since it's her first time taking the form, it takes even more energy than normal, sapping her stamina and causing her to be easily taken out after Kale goes Legendary Super Saiyan out of jealousy.
• Logical Weakness: Future Zamasu is immortal...but being spaghettified across all of time stretches his consciousness so thin he ceases to exist as a being. He can't die, but his mind still has its limits.
• Love Triangle: Mai and Ranch are both vyeing for Trunks' attention, but nothing is really made of it.
• Mama Bear:
  • Launch wastes no time in whipping out her machine gun, then firing on Super Buu when he menaces her children on the Lookout in order to give them a chance to escape.
  • Future Ranch reacts to Black murdering her and Future Trunks' children by getting so furious she goes Super Saiyan Rage and would've beeaten him to death if Future Zamasu hadn't saved him.
• Meaningful Rename: When Cooler takes command he changes the former "Frieza Force" into the "Cooler Force" to fully usher in his era of rule.
• Mundane Solution: In the video covering the Future Trunks arc of Super, Raditz is the one who makes sure that Goku brings along both the ofuda and the pot so they can seal Future Zamasu within it. Thanks to this action, Goku Black is unable to merge with him, allowing Raditz and Goku to fuse, then take him out easily and prevent the destruction of Future Trunks' timeline.
• My Future Self and Me: Present Ranch gets Future Ranch out of her funk and helps her get her strength back, by spending a year together in the Room of Spirit and Time.
• My Greatest Failure:
  • Raditz felt terrible for not remembering his brother's heart medication. Could argue that's why he always remembered to bring important items along like in the Goku Black arc and the senzu bean in the Tournament of Power arc.
  • Downplayed, but Ranch felt terrible for showing off during the Tournament of Power for Caulifla and Kale by going Super Saiyan 3 for the first time, draining her stamina too fast and allowing Legendary Super Saiyan Kale to easily knock her out of the arena.
  • Future Ranch and Trunks feel this after Black kills their children.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Bardock being "brilliant" is mentioned in R&R episode 5, with Ranch asking if he was a scientist, or "Saiyantist", referring to the early Ocean dub claiming Bardock was to one to invent the artificial moon. Raditz clarifies that he was a brilliant fighter.
  • In What If Future Ranch Went To The Past 4, Masako calls Krillin "Clearin" after the infamous "Big Green" dub of Dragon Ball Z calling him that.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In the Majin Buu saga, rather than Vegeta getting angry at Gohan's lack of power while fighting through Babidi's ship, it's his and Raditz's rivalry that ends up with Vegeta going Majin and providing the energy for Majin Buu.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: In Part 3 of the revised future timeline, 17 and 18 taunt Trunks and Ranch over their sloppy teamwork (caused by a minor falling-out). Once the two of them make up (and get in some more training), the Android siblings are no match for them.
• No-Nonsense Nemesis: Raditz is very pragmatic when it comes to dealing with his foes, and will kill them the first chance he gets if he thinks they’re too dangerous. When it’s Raditz’ turn to fight Golden Frieza, he skips the boasting, beats him out of his Golden form then blasts him off the face of the Earth before he can destroy it. And in the Future Trunks Arc, he has his head in the game a lot moreso than Goku and Vegeta, making damn sure that they don’t forget anything important, like the seal for the Mafuba. After figuring out how dangerous Goku Black is with his Adaptive Ability and Future Zamasu’s immortality, Raditz keeps Black occupied while Goku proceeds to ambush and seal Future Zamasu away, then at his urging they both fuse into Raditto and turn Black into a pile of ash on the spot without hesitation.
• Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught: During the Tournament of Power, Raditz successfully cheats by giving Goku a senzu bean. Due to all the excitement both Zenos and even the Grand Priest didn't notice him cupping the bean in his hand and passing it into his brother's mouth. This allows Goku to defeat Jiren on his own and make the wish to bring everyone back. Raditz was the unsung MVP of the TOP.
• Odd Friendship: Raditz forms one of these with Piccolo, since they were both loners for much of their lives before coming around and joining the Z Fighters. During the Cell Saga, they train together in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, during which time, Piccolo helps teach Raditz to control his temper so he doesn't get into petty squabbles with Vegeta.
• Official Couple:
  • Raditz and Launch end up becoming a couple, with the explanation that Good Launch liked Raditz because he reminded her of Goku, Bad Launch liked him because he's a bad boy, and Raditz likes her because she's got that fiery spirit that Saiyan men find so attractive.
  • Ranch and Trunks as well; the present incarnations have the childish Slap-Slap-Kiss going on and are overjoyed when Vegeta finally drops his bitter hatred of Raditz enough to allow Ranch to visit Capsule Corp. The retconned Future timeline went in this direction as well, with the pair getting plenty of Ship Tease during the Android Saga before eventually getting married and having children in the period between Babidi's defeat and the arrival of Goku Black.
• One-Winged Angel: In addition to the canon examples, Omega Shenron wishes on the Super Dragon Balls to become a Dragon God, growing into a version of Black Smoke Shenron of comparable size to Super Shenron and potentially eclipsing the Gods of Destruction in power.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Balsa and Gretta, the children of Future Trunks and Future Ranch, are murdered by Goku Black. This serves as the trigger for Future Ranch unlocking Super Saiyan Rage.
• Papa Wolf: Raditz is very protective of his kids, Ranch, Daikon and Muuli. Raditz is naturally very angry at Super Buu for absorbing Ranch and also angry at Hit for knocking his daughter out of the Universe 6 tournament, not that it helps him in the battle.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Child Goku and Raditz from GT are just as powerful as post-Super Goku and Vegeta would be.
• Portmanteau Couple Name: In-Universe: Ranch was named after RAditz and LauNCH.
• Pragmatic Hero: Raditz ultimately develops into one, which leads to certain major villains being dispatched much more quickly than they were in canon.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Future Ranch and Future Trunks are this, respectively, in the Future Trunks timeline.
• Redemption Equals Death: Initially, the What If ended with Raditz giving his life to protect the Z Warriors from Nappa and Vegeta, glad to finally have a new purpose in life. When the series proved popular, this was reversed in the Namek Saga with Goku wanting to go there to wish him back to life rather than wait a year for the Earth Dragon Balls to reactivate. That, and they still needed to revive Chiaotzu too.
• Redemption Promotion: After Raditz stops being the pathetic, cowardly bully he was when he and Goku first met, he grows much, much stronger. In time, he manages to become a Super Saiyan, then a Super Saiyan 2, and eventually he acquires his own Super Saiyan Blue transformation, ultimately taking a page from the manga and mastering the state.
• Retcon: In Part 2, Masako has Yamcha and Tenshinhan survive their battle with the Saiyans, saying that Raditz's intervention kept the battle from being as one-sided as it was in the anime. He even outright calls it a retcon (or says the viewers can consider it one if they think the idea is too far-fetched).
  • In early 2019 Masako launched what he dubbed the "History of Ranch" storyline, retconning the Future Trunks timeline (as well as the original What If story) since he felt like keeping the same as in canon was a waste of potential. As of Part 4 it's covered from the events of the "History of Trunks" TV special to the very beginning of the Future Trunks/Goku Black Saga of Super.
• Related in the Adaptation: Raditz marries Launch in this version, making her Goku's sister-in-law.
• Revenge Before Reason: Frost tries going after Ranch during the Tournament of Power since she humiliated him and ends up just getting himself knocked out of the tournament much quicker, and inadvertantly saves Krillin from being knocked out so early.
• The Rival: While Vegeta still resents Goku as in canon, his rivalry with Raditz is much more prominent and bloodthirsty. This is because Raditz actually stands up to Vegeta and all his "Saiyan elite" bluster, instead of casually brushing it off the way Goku does.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: Future Zamasu's fate, thanks to Raditz remembering to bring all the pieces needed to successfully seal him away with the Mafuba.
• Senseless Sacrifice: Goku holds Raditz in place with a Full Nelson while Piccolo charges the Special Beam Cannon, intending on sacrificing himself to beat Raditz. However, Raditz is able to break free at the last second, and only Goku is hit, so he sacrificed his life for nothing.
• Shout-Out:
  • Masako has acknowledged that Goten's "Bokay!" in R&R episode 2 was a Game Grumps reference.
  • In R&R episode 5, Raditz remembers his father Bardock as an Expy of All Might, with a triumphant heroic voice and a face heavily covered by shadow.
• Sibling Team: Raditz and Goku team up to fight frequently.
• Slap-Slap-Kiss: Ranch and Trunks have a kiddy version of this going where they squabble and feud a lot, but secretly like each other. There's also a Star-Crossed Lovers aspect to it since Vegeta doesn't approve of Raditz's daughter hanging around with his son until he finally mellows out a bit.
• Slasher Smile: Android 21 now has a mechanical one that has her mouth in a permanent one that even unsettles Mercenary Tao.
• Slice of Life: The R&R offshoot mostly consists of character driven episodes.
• So Proud of You: Raditz was already proud of Ranch, but his pride soars to new heights when he finds out that even after Goku refused to teach her the fusion dance, she learned it in secret anyway by playing her uncle like a fiddle.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • As the title suggest, Raditz himself. Technically he still dies as he shielded both Piccolo and Gohan from Nappa's attack a year after his supposed death, but he gets revived in the following arc and has been a mainstay since.
  • In the Saiyan saga, Piccolo (and by extension Kami), Tien and Yamcha still live by the end of it thanks to Raditz's interference (Chiaotzu still dies since it was still early in the fight that he performed his Heroic Sacrifice).
  • Vegeta doesn't die during the Frieza saga.
  • Raditto kills Super Buu before the latter got the chance to revert to his Kid Buu form, thus was unable to perform the Earth-Shattering Kaboom. This results in Gohan, Piccolo, Goten, Trunks, and the remaining survivors of Earth to be spared.
  • Due to Raditz making sure that Goku remembered to bring both the pot and the ofuda, Future Zamasu is properly sealed away and Goku Black is defeated with ease afterward. Thus no Merged Zamasu, no "essence" of him infecting the Earth and universe, and no Goku having to call in Future Zeno to wipe both him and the whole timeline out of existence. Thus, Future Trunks' Universe and timeline are spared.
• Statuesque Stunner: Ranch takes after her father in height, so Future Ranch and adult Ranch are 6'/183cm tall(According to What if Future Ranch Went To the Past Episode 2) or 6'1/185cm (according to R&R Episode 5 Debrief and R&R Episode 8) and Future Trunks is very attracted to Future Ranch, who's a half-foot taller than his' 5'6".
• Stylistic Suck: In R&R episode 5, Raditz heavily embellishes his history, like Freeza constantly insulting himself, Vegeta being a sniveling weasel and Raditz being a brilliant leader.
• Superior Successor: Cooler has a much more level-headed, calmer personality, and is less likely to kill his minions, which makes him this to Frieza's men.
• Supporting Protagonist: Despite Raditz being clearly the protagonist of the entire fic, Goku is pretty much still The Hero and The Ace of the overall story.
• Take a Third Option:
  • In the Buu Saga, Ranch wants to learn how to do the fusion dance too, but Goku declines because he isn't sure it's even possible because she's a girl^note It's said that the Fusion Dance requires both fusees to have similar body types, which might automatically disqualify fusions between different sexes. Raditz is furious at this and nearly demands that Goku teach her, but Ranch oddly tells him it's alright. However, she learns the technique anyway by watching Goten and Trunks' training in secret, which comes in handy when Trunks gets eaten by Super Buu.
  • In the adaptation of Dragon Ball Super Broly, Vegeta insists on being the one to fuse with Raditz rather than Goku, since he doesn't want to be left on the sidelines again. This raises a minor complication since they have different transformations: Goku and Raditz have the Super Saiyan God forms while Vegeta uses Super Saiyan 4 instead. Masako resolved this by splitting the difference, having the fused Radgeta use Super Saiyan 4 but with an aura of Godly Ki.
• Taking the Bullet:
  • In this rendition, Raditz is the one who takes Nappa's mouth cannon, saving both Piccolo and Gohan. Difference is Raditz is stronger than Piccolo and not only survived the attack, but was able to fight evenly with Nappa right after.
  • He likewise takes a laser shot from Frieza when he tries to shoot Goku.
  • Trunks shields Ranch from Super Buu's Candy Beam, which gets him absorbed and leads to Ranch and Goten fusing into Ranten.
• Touché: In Part 9, during the Tournament of Destroyers Ranch defeats Magetta by hurling insults and abuse at him. After the fight Raditz asks where she learned such language. Ranch replies "...Blond Mom?" and Raditz just nods his head and says "I see."
• Traumatic Superpower Awakening: Similar to the trope page image, Future Trunks and Future Ranch become Super Saiyan after Future Gohan is killed.
  Together, in a tornado of yellow energy, both go Super Saiyan at the same time. The ground around them turns not only to rubble, but completely to dust. As they pound the ground in frustration, the sea of energy rising up into the air now turns into a dustbowl. It's a yellow shining angry dustbowl in the middle of a broken city.
• Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny: One that Dragonball fans have been waiting for a long time: Super Saiyan 4 vs. Super Saiyan Blue!
• Underestimating Badassery: Goku is reluctant to let Ranch compete in the Tournament of Power and wanted Frieza in her place. This is despite the fact that everyone else thought asking Frieza was a terrible idea and Raditz reminds Goku that Ranch was the MVP of Universe 7's team in the Universe 6 tournament, eliminating three of their fighters.
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Unlike Goku and Vegeta, who intentionally prolong their fights just for a good challenge, Raditz averts this, as he's much more cautious and will end a fight against an major threat the first chance he gets. For example:
  • Vegeta gets bored of the fight between Raditz and Nappa, so he uses his "bang attack" to kill Raditz.
  • In the Buu Saga, after merging with Goku and gaining the advantage over Super Buu, it’s due to Radtiz's side of the combination that they instantly wipe out Super Buu when they have the chance, thus preventing Kid Buu from forming.
  • In the Resurrection F arc, after he takes over the fight from Goku against the newly revived Freeza, Raditz wastes no time in knocking Frieza back into his original form and quickly kills him once it happens.
  • And finally in the Future Trunks arc, once Future Zamasu is properly sealed away, Raditz pulls out the potara earrings, fuses with Goku, and together they wipe out Goku Black with a Double Kamehameha lickety-split.
• Would Hurt a Child: Black murders Future Trunks and Future Ranch's children. This was a mistake, as Ranch goes Super Saiyan Rage and nearly beats Black to death if Future Zamasu hadn't rescued him.
• Would Not Hurt A Child: In R&R episode 6.5, Tao goes easy on Kid Shuu, Mai and Pilaf, saying that he doesn't care for hurting children.
• Wrong Time-Travel Savvy: Like in the anime, Raditz and Goku see no change in the Future Trunks arc after killing present Zamasu.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Raditz’s reaction to Vegeta allowing Semi-Perfect Cell to absorb Android 18 for prideful reasons. He later invokes this again when Goku proposes recruiting Frieza to fight for Universe 7 in the Tournament of Power, even punching Goku in the head just for thinking that it was a good idea.
• You're Not My Mother: In the revised Future Trunks timeline, Gohan ends up cutting ties with Chi-Chi when she protests the idea of him training Trunks and Ranch (then about 8 years old) as fighters; since this is the timeline with the evil versions of Androids 17 and 18 rampaging and most of the Z Warriors dead, holding back potential fighters is downright suicidal.