Originally thought to be a species native to Earth, the Namekians were later revealed to be the inhabitants of the planet Namek in Dragon Ball Z. At first, the only Namekians in the series were King Piccolo, his son Piccolo Jr., and Kami, although they were known as members of the Demon Clan until the Namek Saga finally revealed their true heritage.

Since then, a number of different types of Namekians have been outlined and introduced in Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise, alongside their respective abilities and connection to the Dragon Balls. Piccolo, in particular, has played a major role in Dragon Ball Z and every subsequent entry in the franchise, as a particularly unique case among the different classes of Namekians.

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What Are The Different Classes Of Namekians?

Broadly, the inhabitants of the planet Namek are divided into two groups, based on their special abilities and roles in society. These include the Warriors and the Dragon Clan. Prior to Frieza's invasion of Namek in Dragon Ball Z, the planet's population was made up of 86% Dragon Clan members and 14% Warrior-type Namekians. The Dragon Clan is led by a set of six Elders, with each one belonging to a specific village.

Each of the six Elders lives alongside additional Dragon Clan members as well as a number of Warrior-type Namekians, who are responsible for protecting them. The only exception was Grand Elder Guru, who only had one Warrior-type Namekian alongside him, in the form of Nail. Aside from this, Kami was a member of the Dragon Clan who became the Guardian of Earth after splitting from his evil counterpart, King Piccolo. He was also responsible for the creation of Earth's Dragon Balls, much like Grand Elder Guru on Namek.

Both classes of Namekians serve different roles in society, with Warrior-type Namekians being responsible for defending the planet against invaders or threats, and Dragon Clan members possessing mystical abilities that support them. Finally, the Demon Clan is another subgroup created by King Piccolo, which exhibits traits that diverge considerably from other classes of Namekians in Dragon Ball.

Dragon Clan Namekians

The vast majority of Namekians belong to the group known as the Dragon Clan, who possess mystical abilities that permit them to create Dragon Balls, which summon wish-granting Eternal Dragons when gathered together. Each of Namek's Elders is a member of the Dragon Clan, alongside the Nameless Namekian, who later split into Kami and King Piccolo.

Grand Elder Guru was one of the longest-lived members of the Dragon Clan at the time of his demise, having endured for over 500 years at the start of the Frieza Saga. Other members of the Dragon Clan include Dende, who can heal others due to a special ability unique to him. Besides creating Dragon Balls, members of the Dragon Clan can also create objects from nothing, and are even capable of resurrecting Eternal Dragons if they are killed, as seen in how Kami brought Shenron back to life after the King Piccolo Saga.

Warrior-Type Namekians

Armed with more muscular physiques than the average Namekian, Warriors specialize in combat and generally have power levels in the region of 3,000, with certain exceptional individuals such as Nail far exceeding this figure. Their raw physical strength and fighting prowess are suited to the task of defending members of the Dragon Clan, which is their primary role in society. Warrior-types can extend their limbs to increase their reach for combat purposes, and even regenerate lost limbs, although this takes considerable energy, and the experience can be quite painful.

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Warrior-type Namekians cannot harness any of the mystical abilities of the Dragon Clan, as seen in how Piccolo's fusion with Kami erased the Dragon Balls from existence. Piccolo is an especially unique case, since he was reborn as a Warrior-type after the death of his father, King Piccolo, who himself was a member of the Dragon Clan due to his connection to the Nameless Namekian, and also founded the Demon Clan of Earth.

Demon Clan Namekians

Consisting primarily of King Piccolo and his spawned offspring, the Demon Clan is technically the first group of Namekians to appear in the Dragon Ball franchise, although their true race was not known at the time. All of their appearances diverge considerably, since they are Mutated Namekians who do not belong to either of the traditional classes that exist on the planet Namek.

Each of the Demon Clan members seen in Dragon Ball has their own unique set of abilities that vary greatly from those exhibited by the vast majority of the Namekian population. They also often have pterodactyl-like features such as elongated snouts or wings, which are not observed in other classes of the Namekian race. So far, only King Piccolo, and his son, Piccolo Jr., have demonstrated regenerative abilities, along with the power to extend limbs with the Demon Hand technique, or assume a gigantic size with the Great Namekian transformation.

The Untold Power Of Super Namekians

Certain members of the Namekian race wield power levels far beyond anything seen among the Warrior-types or even in the Demon Clan, and unlock higher realms of consciousness to become known as Super Namekians. Although this was an unofficial term coined by Krillin, the only known individuals who achieved this pedigree of strength were the Nameless Namekiaa, Piccolo after his fusions with Nail and Kami, along with Lord Slug in the Dragon Ball Z movies. Said to represent the pinnacle of Namekian battle prowess, Super Namekians are touted to be hundreds of times stronger than the average Namekian, capable of competing with, or even surpassing some Super Saiyans — as seen in Piccolo's case during the Androids Saga.

Dragon Ball Z is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

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Action

Adventure

Comedy

Release Date

April 26, 1989

Studio

Toei Animation

Creator

Akira Toriyama

Number of Episodes

291

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll