Dragon Ball Super put Gohan’s new Beast form to the ultimate test by having him fight his father Goku in Ultra Instinct mode, but the results were surprising. Gohan managed to land a blow on Goku, despite Ultra Instinct’s flaunted ability to dodge every attack, shocking everyone present.

Gohan’s Beast form only debuted a few chapters ago in the manga, so the transformation is still quite new to the young warrior. While it proved more than enough to handle Cell MAX, the upper limits of its power had yet to be established. Goku returned to Earth in chapter #102, then brought Gohan back to Beerus’ World, where they could spar without the risk of damaging the Earth.

Chapter #103 opened with the battle between Goku and Gohan in progress, but it soon took a surprising turn. Despite Goku utilizing Ultra Instinct, in which his body responds automatically to the movements of his opponent, Gohan’s strike lands.

Gohan Beast Overcomes Ultra Instinct

Dragon Ball Super by Akira Toriyama and Toyotarou, chapter #103, “A Legacy Toward the Future”

In the chapter, Gohan Beast is described as the result of Gohan’s latent potential finally being sculpted by training into a form that he can fully utilize, and is said to be a “singular talent,” a transformation only Gohan can utilize. Much has been made of Gohan’s potential over the series, and he previously did have a form all his own, now officially dubbed “Ultimate Gohan.” This Beast form is by far the greatest achievement that training has brought the Saiyan, and its wild power seemed to run free, overcoming even Goku’s divine power.

Ultra Instinct remains Goku’s strongest transformation, and itself is said to be the technique of the Angels, making it a divine form based on God Ki that few mortals could hope to utilize. While Goku initially gains the upper hand after entering Ultra Instinct, Gohan, seemingly through the use of raw ki, manages to increase his speed and strength to such an extent that he is able to overpower Ultra Instinct’s dodging capability. Even Beerus is shocked by this turn of events, having never seen a mastered Ultra Instinct fail to evade a blow.

While the “Mastered Ultra Instinct” Goku uses in his battle is described by Whis and Beerus as “the best trick Goku’s got”, the Saiyan in theory also has access to the “True Ultra Instinct” form he achieved during the battle against Gas.

Scares Goku & Vegeta – Gohan’s New Dragon Ball Super Form Earns Impressive Achievement

Dragon Ball Super’s manga proves that Gohan’s new Beast transformation can both match Ultra Instinct and leave Goku and Vegeta speechless.

What exactly this means isn’t totally clear, but it suggests that Gohan’s Beast form is at least on the level of Ultra Instinct, if not surpassing it. It’s definitely a good sign for Gohan’s continued relevance to the story, as it means he’ll be at the appropriate strength to face threats like Black Frieza, and could be a valuable asset for the heroes when Frieza inevitably makes his next move. Having to protect his family seems to have reawakened Gohan’s fighting spirit, making it more likely that he’ll be the first to step up when the time comes.

Gohan’s Beast form is clearly a wildly powerful new transformation, as proved by the fact that it was able to overcome Ultra Instinct’s main “trick” merely by “boosting his chi”. It’s impossible to say if this is Gohan’s limit, or if he might be able to push past it to even greater heights, but Gohan seems to be poised to find out exactly what the limits of this new power may be in future chapters of Dragon Ball Super.