Next Up, Goku

With Vegeta's decisive victory over Pui Pui still fresh, the second stage of Babidi's ship presents a far more unusual challenge. Yakon, a massive green creature feared across the cosmos, emerges from the darkness ready to collect the Saiyans' energy for his master. The Supreme Kai warns that Yakon is one of the most dreaded beings in the universe. Goku, characteristically, finds this exciting rather than frightening and taunts the beast into attacking.

The initial exchange goes Goku's way. Yakon slashes at him with razor claws, but Goku dodges every swipe with effortless agility. The creature manages to nick his gi, tearing a piece of fabric, but nothing more. Babidi, growing impatient, teleports the entire group to Planet Ankoku, a world at the farthest edge of the universe where no light exists. This is Yakon's home turf, and in total darkness, the creature has every advantage.

Goku stumbles around blind, tripping over rocks and unable to see his opponent. The Supreme Kai explains that Yakon was born in this lightless void and can see perfectly in it. But Goku reveals he has two solutions. First, he can sense Yakon's movements through ki detection, dodging attacks even without sight. Second, he transforms into a Super Saiyan, flooding the darkness with golden light. Babidi's energy meter spikes to 3,000 kilis, and Dabura notes with alarm that a mere 300 kilis is enough to destroy a planet. Yakon, at 800 kilis, is hopelessly outclassed.

But Yakon has a trick of his own. He opens his maw and inhales Goku's Super Saiyan aura, consuming the light as raw energy and forcing Goku back to his base form. It is a unique and clever ability. Goku's response is equally clever. He transforms again, and when Yakon begins absorbing, Goku keeps pushing more power out. A glimpse of Super Saiyan 2 emerges, and the flood of energy becomes more than Yakon can handle. The creature swells grotesquely before detonating from sheer overload. Goku defeats his enemy not through combat but through generosity taken to lethal extremes.

This episode introduces the concept of kilis as a unit of power measurement, giving the audience a concrete metric for the first time in the Buu Saga. Learning that 300 kilis can destroy a planet and that Goku registers at 3,000 in his Super Saiyan state provides useful context. More importantly, it tells Babidi and Dabura exactly how dangerous their prey is, and they still underestimate him.

Goku's strategy against Yakon is worth highlighting because it relies on intelligence rather than brute force. Rather than trying to overpower a creature that literally eats his energy, Goku weaponizes Yakon's appetite. It is a problem-solving approach reminiscent of his best moments throughout the franchise, showing that Goku fights with instinct and creativity, not just raw strength.

The Japanese version of this episode contains a subtle bit of foreshadowing. After Yakon explodes, Babidi questions whether Dabura's explanation of the creature simply overeating is accurate, noting how suddenly Yakon ballooned at the end. This hints at Goku's Super Saiyan 3 form, a power level so extreme it could not be absorbed even by a being designed to consume energy.

This episode holds a surprising distinction in Dragon Ball Z history: it marks the first time Goku kills an opponent in the entire Z series. Despite being the protagonist of hundreds of episodes, Goku has consistently left the finishing blow to others or shown mercy. His last kill before this point dates back to the original Dragon Ball. Yakon's destruction breaks that pattern, though it is fitting that Goku's method is unconventional rather than violent in the traditional sense.

The Dark Star setting also deserves credit for being one of the more creative battlefields in the series. Fighting in total darkness strips away the visual spectacle that Dragon Ball Z typically relies on, forcing the narrative to explore other dimensions of combat like sensory awareness and tactical thinking. It is a refreshing change of pace in a franchise often defined by escalating beam struggles.