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Tien - Dragon Ball

Tien is one of Son Goku's enemies turned friends. Originally from the Crane Martial Arts School, he was taught a number of offensive and defensive techniques by Master Shen and General Tao respectively. His best friend is Chiaotzu, with whom he spends all his time training. He was voiced by Hirotaka Suzuoki in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z (with Kōichi Yamadera voicing him in episodes 82 and 84), and Hikaru Midorikawa in Dragon Ball Kai and Super.

Appearances in Dragon Ball

In Dragon Ball, Goku discovers that Tien and Chiaotzu are scamming the villagers by pretending to beat their master's pet, Inoshikacho, who plays along, earning the duo a reward from the village. Goku reveals the scheme, but Tien still manages to trick the hapless villagers, and Goku is expelled from the village.

Tien enters the World Tournament to defeat Master Roshi 's Turtle School and becomes famous for his Crane School. Upon learning that Goku had killed General Tao, Tien's focus shifted from winning the tournament to seeking revenge. He first defeats Yamcha and, while unconscious, breaks his leg. Afterward, Tien confronts Master Roshi and, despite not fighting seriously at all, Master Roshi forfeits, much to Tien's confusion. He ultimately fights Goku. During the fight, Tien discovers that Chiaotzu is using telekinesis on Master Shen's orders and urges him to stop, wanting a fair fight. Tien narrowly wins the match when Goku accidentally lands ring-first.

Tien tries to help in the battle against Evil King Piccolo , but is knocked unconscious by Master Roshi before he can join the fight. Tien watches Master Roshi use the Evil Containment Wave and trains on his own, eventually mastering the technique. When he confronts Evil King Piccolo, he discovers that the vial needed to use the Evil Containment Wave has been cracked and is now useless. Evil King Piccolo has decided that Tien is not worth fighting himself and summons a new minion called Drum. Tien targets Drum with the Evil Containment Wave, but is interrupted by Evil King Piccolo. Drum is about to land a decisive blow, but Tien is saved in the nick of time by Goku. After the fight is over, Tien returns to Master Roshi's house with the others and vows to continue his training with Chiaotzu to close the power gap between himself and Goku.

Appearances in Dragon Ball Z

In Dragon Ball Z, Tien joins Yamcha None, Krillin , and Chiaotzu in training at Kami's Observation Post in anticipation of Nappa and Vegeta's arrival. At that moment, Tien is crushed by Nappa, even though he is one of Earth's strongest fighters. Seeing that Tien is struggling, Chiaotzu uses his self-destruct attack on Nappa, though it is ultimately unsuccessful. Distraught at the sight of Chiaotzu's sacrifice, Tien uses all of his remaining life energy to fire a Tri-Beam at Nappa, again failing to do any significant damage. Exhaustion kills him, and soon after, he joins the other dead fighters on King Kai's planet.

On King Kaio's planet, Tien undergoes the same training as Goku and also trains with members of the Ginyu Force alongside his friends. Tien struggles with telling jokes, making it difficult for him to pass King Kaio's test without Yamcha's help. After being brought back with the Dragon Balls from Namek, Tien and Chiaotzu return to their training. A year later, after sensing two fearsome powers approaching Earth, they head to the landing site to find all the Z Fighters and a non-hostile Vegeta waiting for them. Trunks informs everyone that the power comes from Frieza and his father, King Cold.

Before the androids arrive, Trunks, Tien, and Chiaotzu continue their training alone. Tien leaves Chiaotzu behind when he goes to face his enemies, believing that Chiaotzu has trained hard but will not be able to keep up with the ferocious androids. Tien's first and only attempt at a fight is with Android 17, who quickly overwhelms him with little effort. Due to the massive power gap, Tien leaves to train further, vowing to become strong enough to help later. His next encounter occurs when he goes to Master Roshi's island to check on Goku when the androids coincidentally appear. Piccolo refuses to reveal Goku's location to the androids and leads them away. Sensing Cell nearby, Tien follows after him to help Piccolo.

After Cell absorbs Android 17 and achieves his semi-perfect form, he begins targeting Android 18. Fearing the worst, Tien uses all of his energy to hit Cell with Neo Tri-beams to allow Android 18 to escape. Tien, now on the verge of death, is found by Goku and transported away. Tien remains sidelined for the remainder of the Cell Games due to his relatively low power level. That said, he is forced to fight Cell Juniors with Yamcha. To give a desperate example, Son Gohan , with a slight advantage in his power struggle with Cell, fires energy blasts at Cell, but is effortlessly swept away. Later in the Buu Saga, he saves Gohan by using a Neo Tri-beam to deflect a potentially lethal blast from Majin Buu.

Appearances in Dragon Ball Super

In Dragon Ball Super, Tien is a spectator during the match against Universe 6, but joins the Z Fighters in the battle against Frieza's army and the Tournament of Power. Tien is a valuable member of the team and helps defeat up to eight opposing Universe Fighters.

Powers and abilities

For a human, Tien is incredibly powerful. Some of his abilities include superhuman strength, superhuman speed, and supersonic flight. His main techniques include:

Dodon Ray - An energy ray fired from the index finger; invented by Master Shen.
Four Witches Technique - Tien grows two extra arms from her back, allowing her to attack faster and more frequently than normal.
Multi-Form - Tien can make four copies of himself, all with the same power as the original.
Tri-Beam - Tien joins his hands to form a triangle. The triangular space between them is used like a telescope to zoom in on the target and release a powerful beam of energy. Tri-Beam can use the user's life energy in place of ki when fatigued.
Neo Tri-Beam - A more developed and powerful version of the Tri-Beam.
Solar Flare - A technique that uses ki to temporarily blind an opponent.
Evil Containment Wave - A technique used to seal an opponent.