Hell's Flash

Hell's Flash takes advantage of Android 16's fully mechanical body in a way no organic fighter could replicate. To prepare the attack, 16 lifts his opponent and slams them into the ground. Then he removes the lower halves of both forearms, tucking the detached pieces under his armpits and revealing powerful energy cannons built into the remaining arm stumps. The cannons charge briefly before unleashing an enormous blast that creates a crater-spanning explosion, with hundreds of smaller energy beams spraying outward from the impact zone.

The technique's power comes from 16's internal reactor rather than ki, making it fundamentally different from organic energy attacks. The detachable arms are a design feature specific to 16's model, purpose-built for exactly this kind of maximum-output weapon deployment.

Android 16 uses Hell's Flash during his battle against Imperfect Cell on the Tropical Islands. After connecting with a Rocket Punch and pounding Cell into the earth, 16 deploys the technique at point-blank range. The resulting explosion reshapes the entire island, sending shockwaves across the ocean. For a brief, hopeful moment, it seems like the attack has destroyed Cell entirely.

It hasn't. Cell survives by burrowing underground during the blast, using the chaos as cover to sneak toward Android 17, who is watching in shock from a distance. Before 16 or 18 can react, Cell absorbs 17 and achieves his Semi-Perfect form. The Hell's Flash, for all its devastating power, ultimately serves as the distraction that enables Cell's transformation.

Hell's Flash has appeared in Dragon Ball games since the Super Famicom era, beginning with Super Butoden. In the Budokai Tenkaichi series, it's 16's signature Ultimate Blast, complete with the forearm detachment animation. FighterZ faithfully recreates the technique for 16's New Model version. Xenoverse 2 introduces a DUAL Hell Flash variant, a cooperative version where 16 and the Future Warrior fire together. The game's version of the story explains that 16 developed the dual variant instead of upgrading himself, deciding that coordinated teamwork would be more effective than solo power.

Dragon Ball Fusions features a Full Power Hell Flash variant, and Xenoverse 2 also allows Android 17 and Baby-possessed characters to use the technique, expanding its user base beyond 16's original design.