We all know how easy it becomes for Goku and the Z soldiers to track down the Dragon Balls on Earth. In DragonBall Z Movie 13, they actually spend a leisurely afternoon gathering them. But, it wasn't always that east to get all of them, something you're sure to have seen in Dragon Ball. From start to finish, the Dragon Bll 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 side-kick Puar, overcame a mountain of flames, outwitted a magical rabbit, and destroyed the forces of the great Emperor Pilat! Okay, so maybe it all sounds a bit strange, but that doesn't make it any less difficult. However this was only the first round of searching! As Dragon Ball continued, there were many much harder things to overcome, from evil androids to nasty green aliens...thus makin' it incredibly hard for the gang to gather all seven of these magic balls...
Dragon Balls 101
Basically, in DragonBall and DragonBall 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, (good choice for Dragon Balls), to grant a wish to anyone lucky or skillful enough to gather all secen 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 (Shenlong), and is capable of some heavy duty wish granting. But we'll get to that later... 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 laws, something made by a full entity is far more powerful than something created by only half an entity. Their existence is only discovered in DragonBall 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 a result of the evil side of Piccolo). After a wish is granted, the Dragon Balls will scatter across the universe, and if they're not gathered within a year, the planet they last granted a wish on will explode! I'd call that an added incentive to get them back!
Rules & Regulations
It's hard to keep track of all the different rules for wish making in Dragon Ball, so here you'll find a guide for all of the different sets of Dragon Balls detailing 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 Shenlong!", 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 Yamma'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 then once.
After the wish has been granted, the Dragon Balls will turn to stone and scatter across the Earth.
One year after the Dragon Balls will become active again, and another wish maybe be granted.
If the Eternal Dragon (Shenlong) is killed, he may be resurrected. The statue within Kami's shrine that is a symbol of his life must be rebuilt for this to occur.
If the creator of the Dragon Balls dies, without an heir, the 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 never specified if the Dragon Balls scatter randomly after a wish is granted, regardless of wheter they do or not, they are usually held by the elders of each village on the planet.
130 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, then the Dragon Balls will become useless.
Multiple people may be wished back at one time. *After Muuri's Power-Up*
Earth Dragon Balls (2)
(After Dende's Power-Up)
All seven Dragon Balls must be gathered in one place.
The word's, "Come out Eternal Dragon!", or "Come out Shenlong!", 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.
Athough never specified if someone can be wished back once they've been dead for over a year, it is possible. However, no one can be wished back if they have 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. However if only one wish is granted, The waiting period is only four months. If two wishes are granted, the waiting period is only 8 months.
If the Eternal Dragon (Shenlong) is killed, he can be resurrected. The statue within Dende's shrine is a symbol of 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 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 Shenlong!" 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, and these Dragon Balls may be able to grant wishes beyond the power of King Yamma, and Kami.
It is not known if someone can be resurected twice, but it seems likely that it's 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 in which they last granted a wish, will explode.
If the created of the Dragon Balls dies, without an heir, the Dragon Balls will become useless.
