Polunga

* Saichōrō (Creator)
* Muri ('Creator')

**Porunga** (ポルンガ; *FUNimation* "Porunga", *Viz* "Shenlong") is a magical, wish-granting Dragon that is summoned using the Namekian Dragon Balls, and as such, is the Namekian counterpart to Earth's Shenron. He was originally created by Saichōrō, the eldest Nameccian, and later passed onto the Namekian Elder Muri after the former's death, where he was improved. In Namekian, the word 'Porunga' means "god of dreams".

## Background

Sometime prior to the beginning of the series, Polunga was created by Saichōrō along with the Namekian Dragon Balls.

## Personality

Like Shenron, Porunga is good-hearted, but being that he is a dragon, he has a temper and sometimes comes off as impatient. He is shown to have a sense of humor, as when he was kept waiting by Krillin, Gohan, and Dende, who had summoned him on Namek, he told them if they couldn't think of what to wish for, "just wish for nothing three times so I can go". However, he is more friendly and patient than Shenron, and has demonstrated a greater eagerness to grant wishes; he restores Krillin's clothes as good as new as a special service, and is even shown to be happy for everyone after Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu are brought back to life. In the anime, he saves Yamcha, Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu the trouble of having to traverse the Snake Way again and returns them directly to Earth when they are wished back to life. He also shows embarrassment, when Bulma tells him he is "kinda cute."

It would seem Porunga is morally opposed to killing anyone good. When he was asked to bring Goku's soul to the Check-In Station in Other World as Goku was thought to have died from the explosion of Namek, Porunga refused to grant the wish as doing so would remove Goku's soul from his still-living body and thus kill him. Even more, he informed Goku's allies of his survival. This is another seeming contrast between Porunga and Shenron, the latter of whom has been more threatening (even threatening to kill a good person in one instance if a wish was not given). It has been shown that Porunga will not relocate someone against their will as Goku asked to not be brought back to Earth when a wish was made for it, to which Porunga honored Goku's request.

## Appearance

Porunga is much more brutal-looking than Shenron, with a heavily muscled upper body (large pectoral muscles, shoulders, arms, and well defined abdominal muscles). Instead of looking snake-like in appearance, like Shenron does, Porunga appears to be more alligator-like, bearing great resemblance to the Naga, a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. He has a long green slithery tail instead of legs. He also has a large fin down the center of his back, and large spikes on his shoulders and head, as well as two antennae on his forehead similar to the Namekian people.

## Abilities

Besides being able to be summoned sooner, Porunga is also more powerful than Shenron in that he can grant three wishes per summoning instead of one or two/three (while originally only able to grant a single wish, by the Cell Games Saga, Dende modified Shenron to perform up to three wishes but can only perform two if one is used for a mass-scale revival).

Like Shenron, Porunga's wish-granting powers are limited by the power of his creator; Guru originally, and Moori later on. Any wish that is encompassed within his creator's power is able to be granted. Unlike Shenron, Porunga is able to perform the same wish asked of it multiple times. While able to revive people the same, so long as they didn't die of natural causes, Porunga could only bring one person back from the dead per wish as compared to Shenron who can revive an unspecified number per wish. His natural power is also very strong, as he was able to replenish Goku's energy with ease. However, Porunga is not limited to the number of times the said person can be revived, nor is there any known time-limit for how long a person can remain dead before they are unable to be revived. Later, Porunga's power is strengthened by Moori to bring back as many lives as needed without any reduction in the remaining number of wishes. Also, while understanding other languages, wishes must be given in the Namekian language. This limitation prevented Frieza's wish for immortality from being granted, possibly as safeguard against offworlders misusing the Dragon Balls. Porunga is still able to respond to inquiries about his wish-granting abilities not made in the Namekian, such as when Dende asked Porunga in human language during the battle against Kid Buu to restore Goku's full strength.[2] The one exception to the language rule is when Porunga fails to understand the wording of the wish, to which he will still grant the requested wish if translated in another language, as seen from Porunga initially not understanding Dende's wish to revive all but the evil inhabitants of Earth.

## Creation and Conception

According to Akira Toriyama in the 30th Anniversary Dragon Ball Chōshishū: Super History Book, Toriyama's goal when making Polunga was to make him look even more incredible than the Shenron of Earth, due to Polunga being the original.

## In Other Media

Polunga would go on to be featured in an advertisement for the Ford Motor Company, advertising the 2016 Ford Focus. In the commercial, Kuririn and Gohan summoned Polunga to wish for three different cards with various features; the Shenron would eventually get fed up, and grant one wish instead: a wish for the Ford, which encompassed all the traits Kuririn asked for in three cars.

## Trivia

* In addition to the name 'Polunga', titles of anime episodes and manga chapters have referred to him by other names before his name was revealed. Both *Dragon Ball Kai* and *Dragon Ball Z*, Polunga was referred to as **Super Shenron** (神龍で, *Sūpā Shenron*) in his début episodes. In his début manga chapter, he was referred to as the **Genuine Shenron** (本場の神龍, *Honba no Shenron*). In a similar vein, *VIZ Media* chapter covers have referred to him as the "True Shenlong".
* Piccolo Daimaō's children, Tambourine and Cymbal, bear notable resemblances to Polunga in their official manga coloration. Each have green skin with a pebbly texture, and a cream coloured chin and torso.
* In the manga, Polunga is summoned a total of 5 times.

## References

1. ↑ *Daizenshū 4*, page 34
2. ↑ *Daizenshū 5*, page 125
3. ↑ FUNImation Dub
4. ↑ Viz Media
5. ↑ *Daizenshū 4*
6. ↑ *Dragon Ball* chapter 292
7. ↑ Dragon Ball 30th Anniversary “Super History Book” (21 January 2016); Akira Toriyama Interview
8. ↑ The Ultimate Wish Is Granted.