Piccolo Character Facts

Piccolo was born to avenge his father's death at the hands of Goku. After his narrow defeat against Goku, Piccolo is soon forced to form an, at first, uneasy alliance with Goku and his friends against newer, more dangerous threats. Thus, he and Goku kick off the formation of the Z Fighters. Out of necessity, he also takes it upon himself to train Goku's young son Gohan, forming a powerful bond which ultimately redeems him when he sacrifices himself to save the child's life from Nappa. After his resurrection, he fully joins Goku and the others in their struggles against ever more powerful villains on Namek and Earth. As the story progresses, his role shifts from warrior to mentor.
Piccolo is one of the most intelligent characters in the series, retaining King Piccolo's tactical genius, and later gaining Kami's great wisdom after fusing with the old Guardian.
Piccolo was originally villainous, much like his father. When battling Goku in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, he shows almost no mercy and no regard for his opponent, breaking all of Goku's limbs while laughing sadistically. Despite this, he did possess some sense of good, having once saved a mother and daughter from debris during a storm.[3] Later, when he and Goku team up to battle Raditz, Piccolo began to show more honor during battle, even commemorating Goku on his noble sacrifice.
After he trains and befriends Goku's young son, Gohan, Piccolo's heart and motives quickly begin to change as the boy takes his time to talk with Piccolo and have normal discussions, not resulting in a violent outbreak. Gohan even comments on this, telling Piccolo that he seems to be more grumpy than truly evil. During the battle with Nappa, Piccolo goes as far as to sacrifice his life to save Gohan, stating how his friendship and love had changed him forever. Piccolo has stated that Gohan was the first person to see him not as a monster, and was proud to call him his friend, even going as far as to admit that Gohan is like the son he never had in one of the dubs. Upon his return during the battle with Frieza on Namek and after fusing with the Namekian warrior Nail, Piccolo fights for the honor of his people and to save the innocent.
Years later, during the Androids Saga, Piccolo still does retain a bit of ruthlessness and cockiness, but once he fuses with Kami, all traces of evil and hate disappear, and Piccolo is completely reborn as a pure soul. He is shown to be very wise, and strategic in battle. Even after merging with Kami, Piccolo remains a loner, preferring to stand apart from others. He has little to say unless it involves battle, and does not seem to understand the concept of romance, referring to it as "mushy stuff". As Piccolo carries on in life, he becomes slightly easier to stress and annoy, especially during the Buu Saga, but he normally can still retain his stoic personality if required to not show fear in the face of an enemy.
Piccolo transforms into a Great Namek when he battles against Goku in the finale of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, and later when fighting against Super Garlic Jr. Piccolo's size greatly increases, his power increases, and the form does not impact his speed.
During the Frieza Saga, Piccolo uses the Namekian Fusion with Nail, which greatly boosts his strength and power beyond his previous limitations. With this, Piccolo is able to fight against Frieza evenly while the tyrant is in his 2nd Form.
During the Imperfect Cell Saga, Piccolo uses the Namekian Fusion with Kami and becomes a Super Namek. With this power up, he is able to fight against Android 17 evenly for a short period of time.