It is no secret that Goku is an insanely powerful character within Dragon Ball whose skills include fighting, ki blasts, and adaptability in battle–but his debut actually reveals one particularly shocking skill within Goku’s arsenal, and Dragon Ball GT confirms it.

Goku made his first appearance in Dragon Ball chapter 1 by Akira Toriyama as a lone child (with a monkey tail) wandering through the woods, looking for food. Before long, however, Goku encountered Bulma who came across Goku in her search for the Dragon Balls, since Goku had one in his possession. Since Goku’s grandfather had recently died, and he was all alone, Goku agreed to accompany Bulma on her quest around the world to search for the Dragon Balls–and with that, the series officially began. However, hidden between the lines of this first chapter was Goku’s greatest skill, though it wouldn’t be until Dragon Ball GT that this skill would become obvious.

In Dragon Ball GT season 1, episode 24 (written by Atsushi Maekawa, directed by Osamu Kasai, produced by Toei Animation), Goku, Pan, and Trunks have just rescued a boy who was trapped in a broken-down spaceship that was hurtling towards a nearby sun. The Z-Fighters brought the boy to a planet that was the most medically advanced in the galaxy, and while he was being treated, the Z-Fighters wandered around the area until they started to get hungry. Goku refused to get food at the hospital cafeteria as he was convinced a doctor would stick him with a needle when he wasn’t looking. It was an irrational fear, but one Goku held onto for most of the episode. So, the Z-Fighters decided to find their own food, and they went to a nearby body of water to catch some fish to eat. While Trunks was able to kill a couple, Goku caught hordes of fish without even trying–something that was reminiscent of his very first appearance.

Goku’s Secret Dragon Ball Skill isn’t Fighting, it’s Fishing

In the first chapter of Dragon Ball, while Goku is wandering through the woods looking for food, he decides that his best bet is to go fishing–and he catches a monstrous fish upon his first attempt. When reading this first chapter, one doesn’t immediately recognize how good Goku is at catching fish by this one success alone. Sure, it was impressive, but the accomplishment is immediately overshadowed by the call-to-adventure Goku receives courtesy of Bulma and her quest to find the Dragon Balls. However, when Goku proves to be amazing at fishing in this episode of GT, one can’t help but be shocked by the sheer number of fish he’s able to catch with such little effort before remembering that it shouldn’t have come as a shock at all, because Goku showed fans that he was an amazing fisherman right from the start.

Before Goku averted his first planetary threat, stopped his first villain, or even threw his first punch, he proved to be great at fishing–a secret Dragon Ball skill that was introduced in the first chapter of the series, and highlighted years later in Dragon Ball GT.