Fanfic / What If Krillin Became a Saiyan?

What If Krillin Became A Saiyan? is a Dragon Ball What If? fanfic by Lawrence Simpson, aka MasakoX of Team Four Star fam as part of his Dragon Ball Discussion series of Youtube videos. This particular topic started on October 1st, 2019, as the forty-second entry in the series.

As the title suggests, he explores his interpretation of an alternate version of the story wherein Krillin decides, after a fateful conversation with a distracted Roshi, to gather up the Dragon Balls and ask Shenron to make him more like Goku. Shenron takes this to mean biologically, transforming the unwitting human into a Saiyan just like his best friend. Which means both of them are deeply surprised when Raditz comes calling and reveals Goku's alien heritage. From there, Krillin must deal with the unforeseen consequences of his wish, as many are offended by his seemingly taking a shortcut to success.

You can find the playlist for it here.

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What If Krillin Became A Saiyan? includes the following tropes:

• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • Krillin and Goku spend much more time training together as Friendly Rivals, with Goku staunchly supporting his best friend and not seeing anything wrong with the wish he made.
  • By contrast, Master Roshi practically disowns Krillin upon learning about his 'cheap wish', severely straining their bond.
  • Vegeta takes Krillin's existence as a 'false Saiyan' as an insult even before he makes things personal when they actually meet up. Krillin ends up the focus for Vegeta's ire and his wall to surpass instead of Goku. They do come to an understanding of sorts because of the threat of Majin Buu.
  • Chi-Chi's distrust of Krillin taints both his relationship with her and with Gohan, as he distances himself from the later during the Namek Saga in response to her wishes. This naturally confuses and upsets the five-year-old, who becomes desperate to prove himself.
  • Krillin and Future Lazuli end up a couple instead of Krillin and Android 18.
  • Because Gohan never becomes the Great Saiyaman, he and Videl never really bond or get together the way they do in canon.
  • Most of the Dragon Team respect, or are somewhat neutral to, Shin after the Buu Saga. Here, Vegeta and Krillin outright thinks he's stupid while Lazuli despises him for sealing Buu away.
• Adaptational Badass:
  • Krillin, naturally. He goes to King Kai's planet with Goku, learning Kaioken as well. Since he doesn't learn the Spirit Bomb, he perfects his Kaioken, so it's more stable than Goku's. His base power level is 80,000 in the Namek Saga after getting it unlocked by Guru.
  • The Kaioken becomes this as well: King Kai uses Krillin's experience with Super Saiyan and Kaioken to improve and refine it. Krillin and Goku end up mastering what they call the Saiyaken.
  • Piccolo, Yamcha and Tien all learn the Kaioken, with Piccolo mastering up to x50 under Krillin's tutelage. Chiaotzu gets a really good grasp on the Spirit Bomb since his body isn't suited for Kaioken.
• Adaptational Heroism:
  • The Future counterparts of Androids 17 and 18 are part of the Future Dragon Team from the start.
  • Present Androids 17 and 18 don't do anything immoral or evil in this timeline, being absorbed by Cell way too quickly to have any adventures. Future Lazuli also convinces them not to cause trouble.
• Adaptational Jerkass: In canon, Shin was a well-meaning deity who's snappiness stems from him being caught off-guard by how non-nonchalant the Dragon Team are regarding the threat of Babadi and Majin Buu. Here, he's taking no chances and uses the mortals as a means to an end, and will take any back-handed method possible to ensure the universe's safety.
• Adaptational Villainy: Mr. Satan becomes a Majin in this timeline and ends up inflicting a Curb-Stomp Battle on his daughter Videl.
• Adaptational Wimp:
  • Goku doesn't get Instant Transmission and none of the Saiyans get the Super Saiyan 2 or 3 transformations.
  • Goku and Vegeta never unlock God Ki or the God forms.
  • Gohan never attains the levels of power that he did in canon and mostly fades into irrelevance after the Namek Saga. His only real achievement being that he becomes the 25th World Martial Arts champion without even trying.
  • Cell achieves his Perfect form but he is quickly destroyed by the Dragon Team after he regenerates due to Android 16 detonating his bomb.
  • Videl doesn't train with Gohan in this timeline, so she never gets any tutelage in ki control. So Majin Mr. Satan inflicts an even worse beatdown on her than Spovovich did in the canon timeline.
• Adapted Out:
  • Dodoria isn't part of Freeza's group that goes to Namek. Instead, he's left to fulfill the freshly killed Cui's duties.
  • Future Trunks is replaced by Future Lazuli in this timeline, who comes back to warn the Dragon Team of Android 16, who is essentially the Terminator in the future timeline.
  • Spovovich and Yamu are replaced by Mr. Satan and Caroni in the Buu Saga.
  • The events of Dragon Ball Super and GT never happen in this timeline, with the storyline ending shortly after the Buu Saga.
• Armor-Piercing Response:
  • Krillin responds to Nappa and Vegeta mocking his height by remarking that Vegeta might be shorter than him if he didn't have all that hair. Vegeta is stunned into silence while Nappa looks back and forth between the two, suspecting that he might be right.
  • When Krillin declares that Gohan will be safer accompanying him, Bulma angrily demands to know if he's implying she can't take care of a kid. Krillin snaps back that "You let him run free and he almost got killed!", leaving her blinking and unable to refute the point.
  • Zarbon opens his dressing-down of Vegeta by declaring that he doesn't like him, and that Vegeta likely feels the same way. He's taken aback when Vegeta bluntly replies "Yes, that's accurate, go on."
• Asshole Victim: Shin, for his callous actions when dealing with a now-calmed Majin Buu ends up dying to an enraged Buu. Considering he used Earth's heroes to trick Buu into getting sealed, no tears would be shed for Shin when he gets killed by Buu.
• Bad Future: In future Lazuli's timeline, Gero unleashes a much more powerful Android 16 that kills Goku. A programing glitch leads to him destroying the world, with only the remnants of the Dragon Team left behind to fight him.
• Bad Liar: After backstabbing Krillin, Vegeta attempts to bluff Gohan by claiming he'd been sent to drop Dende off someplace safe, and intended to go right back and rejoin the fight. Gohan isn't fooled, but pretends otherwise in order to avoid giving anything away.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: By wishing to become more like Goku, Krillin accidentally turns himself into a Saiyan. Not only does he have to deal with the physical and psychological changes this brings, he faces judgement for 'taking a cheap shortcut' rather than earning his power through hard work.
• The Berserker: Krillin turns into a Great Ape when Vegeta does, but unlike him, he doesn't have control over it and goes completely berserk.
• Blood Knight: While he got Goku's good nature, Krillin is still a Saiyan now, and thus enjoys fighting. This leads to moments where he finds himself struggling against his new instincts, such as his desire for stronger and greater challenges warring with his desire to take care of potential threats quickly.
• Brought Down to Normal: In the finale, the Grand Priest reverted Krillin back to a normal human being. Marron is still half-Saiyan, though.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • After Goku and Krillin go Super Saiyan in the wake of Gohan's murder, Freeza is crushed by the angry duo, not even getting the chance to go full power as they take turns beating the hell out of him.
  • As expected of anyone trying to fight an angel, the Grand Priest without trying stomps Majin Buu down on the ground.
• Didn't See That Coming: Vegeta wasn't aware that Freeza could transform in this timeline, and thus tries to take him on with Senzu Beans, hoping to just keep getting up with zenkai boosts until he overpowers him...then Freeza transforms into his Second Form.
• Death by Adaptation: Shin and Kibito die at the hands of Majin Buu, with the former causing both of their demises by trying to seal Majin Buu away. Because Shin was the last active Supreme Kai for Universe 7, Beerus also suffers this thanks to the life-link to the Kai.
• Deus ex Machina: The Grand Priest shows up to prevent Majin Buu's rampage and restores the Grand Supreme Kai from within Majin Buu. He also forcefully returns Krillin to a regular human because the wish to become like Goku defied the natural order. As MasakoX points out, the powers of the angels is extremely vague so they can do whatever the writers need to wrap up events.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation:
  • Cui dies on Freeza Planet 79, after angering Vegeta who quickly shoves him through a wall and into the vacuum of space.
  • Zarbon is killed by Vegeta in a blast of ki before Zarbon can transform into his monster form.
  • Ginyu is incinerated by Vegeta.
  • Krillin pushes Freeza into his own Death Ball on Namek, which kills both of them. Krillin gets brought back by the Namekian Dragon Balls, but Freeza never returns.
  • King Cold is killed by Future Lazuli and Krillin.
  • Future Lapis/Android 17 is killed by Future Android 16 instead of Future Trunks.
  • Present Androids 17 and 18 are absorbed at the same time by Imperfect Cell ambushing the Dragon Team at Dr. Gero's lab. They get brought back by the Dragon Balls and promise to stay out of trouble.
  • Android 16 succeeds in detonating his bomb and blowing up Cell. It proves to be integral in dealing the finishing blow to Cell.
  • Cell is killed by a combination of Ki blasts by Krillin, Goku and the Dragon Team after he barely regenerated from Android 16 detonating his bomb.
  • Kami doesn't fuse with Piccolo to become the Nameless Namekian until the Buu Saga, which is when he decides to retire and trains Dende to assume the position.
  • Mr. Satan is blown up by Babadi in Spovovich's place. Caroni is killed by Dabura in Yamu's place.
  • Dabura is killed by Krillin instead of being turned into a cookie by Majin Buu.
• Disappointed in You: Master Roshi scolds Krillin for taking a shortcut to success by wishing to become like Goku. This is despite the fact that Roshi was the one who suggested it in the first place (albeit while distracted by watching 'movies' and not really paying attention to his student).
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Piccolo feels slighted when Goku focuses on Krillin after they take down Raditz together. In his eyes, it was his plan and Special Beam Cannon that carried them to victory, but Goku is more interested in praising and encouraging his best friend.
• Exact Words:
  • Krillin's wish was to be like Goku (as in as strong as Goku). Shenron interpreted it as the same as Goku biologically. Fortunately for Krillin and the Earth, he specifically said Goku and not Saiyan in general, so he's simply a Saiyan with Goku's good intentions.
  • Zarbon asserts that Frieza won't find out about him pulling rank behind his back "So long as I'm around." Vegeta blithely agrees "As long as you're around," which Zarbon immediately recognizes as a threat... though too late to save himself.
• The Farmer and the Viper: Vegeta repays Krillin for helping him take down the Ginyu Force by stealing the Senzu Beans and kidnapping Dende, leaving the heavily injured hero to deal with the wrath of the two remaining members of the team.
• For Want Of A Nail:
  • Because Krillin and Goku trained together in the interim period between the original Dragon Ball and Z, both their power rises dramatically compared to the original, allowing the both of them to drive off Raditz without having to kidnap Gohan as extra leverage.
  • Vegeta accompanies Freeza and Zarbon to Namek, while Dodoria remains behind.
  • Freeza is killed on Namek when Krillin grabs him and steers him into his Death Ball. Krillin also dies, but is brought back by the Namekian Dragon Balls.
  • A Future version of Lazuli/Android 18 arrives to help kill King Cold and warn the Z-Warriors of the future Android threat.
• Friendly Rival: Goku and Krillin lean even harder into this dynamic due to Krillin being able to keep pace with him much more effectively, coupled with Goku not judging him over his wish and being Krillin's pillar of moral support.
• Golden Super Mode: Goku and Krillin go Super Saiyan when Freeza kills Gohan in front of them.
• Green-Eyed Monster:
  • Master Roshi assumes that Krillin made his wish entirely out of jealousy, backsliding back to the Bratty Half-Pint with a massive Inferiority Superiority Complex.
  • Piccolo has shades of this, feeling as though the contributions he made to defeating Raditz were overlooked and wanting to prove he can catch up to the pair without 'cheating' via Shenron.
  • While Goku largely avoids this, being glad to have a rival capable of matching him, when he sees how much Krillin has grown and improved during his time on Namek, he has a moment of briefly regretting how he turned down Guru's offer to unlock his full potential.
• Happily Married: Krillin and Lazuli become this between the Android and Buu Saga.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: Krillin and Lazuli figures out earlier than anyone else that Buu is Not Evil, Just Misunderstood. After killing the true threat of Babadi and Dabura and was looking to fully embrace him as part of the group, Shin seals him away without warning and imprissoned him to the Land of the Kais. Krillin and Lazuli are understandably pissed at this, and even Vegeta agreed with them that Shin made a horrible mistake. The three of them end up being right, as soon after, Buu breaks out of his seal, and is beyond mad.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Krillin steers Frieza into his own Death Ball, killing them both. He then encourages Goku to use the last wish on Porunga to bring Gohan back instead of himself, unaware that the Namekian Dragon Balls can be used more frequently and can revive him later.
• Human Shield: Great Ape Krillin instinctively grabs Vegeta and uses him to protect himself from the Spirit Bomb, with the blast hitting Vegeta In the Back and searing off his tail.
• In Spite of a Nail: Piccolo still abducts Gohan to train him, falsely claiming that Goku asked him to pick him up from the Kame House and take him home in his place. He subsequently discovers the existence of his Rage Boost when he chucks him towards a mountain in a fit of frustration, and forces him to undergo further Training from Hell.
• Ironic Echo: Before finishing Captain Ginyu off, Vegeta echoes his trump card by declaring that "You're right. There will be change. Now."
• Kick Them While They Are Down: Vegeta exploits Krillin putting Frieza temporarily out of commission by repeatedly kicking the tyrant in the head and gloating.
• Knew It All Along: Roshi was able to piece together that Krillin did something since his power is similar to Goku and he was seeing Krillin less and less at Kame House.
• Leave Him to Me!: Krillin requests that Goku let him tackle Nappa solo. After defeating him, he's driven to make the same demand regarding Vegeta as well, much to Goku's surprise.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Krillin doesn't tell Bulma about the wish he really intends to make on the Dragon Balls. While Goku learns the truth shortly afterwards when he sees Krillin's tail, the two keep it hidden from everybody else until Raditz's arrival forces it out into the open.
• Moment of Weakness: After seeing just how much stronger Krillin has gotten during his time on Namek, Goku briefly second-guesses his decision to reject Guru's offer.
• More Insulting than Intended: When Goku refuses Guru's offer to unlock his full potential, he remarks to Krillin that he likely doesn't understand why he feels that way since he wasn't born a Saiyan like him. Krillin takes this poorly, thinking that this means Goku looks down on him just like Vegeta and the rest.
• Mundane Wish:
  • When asking for the radar, Krillin claims that he wants to be taller. Bulma promptly laughs her ass off, mocking the idea of making such a petty request, before he reminds her of how she originally intended to wish for a boyfriend.
    Krillin: Oh yeah? Well, at least I didn't try to use the almighty dragon to find a boyfriend like somebody I know!
    (Beat)
    Bulma: Well played, shortstuff.
  • When Goku learns about the wish, he jokes that at least Krillin hadn't wished to be taller, with Krillin awkwardly laughing along.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Krillin's horrified upon learning that he attacked his best friend while mindlessly rampaging as a Great Ape.
• Mythology Gag: Krillin gets the "Sagacious Krillin" form after training with the Grand Supreme Kai. This form was talked of in a previous Masako video that had new forms for different characters after getting their Potential Unleashed.
• New Powers as the Plot Demands: Masako points this out about the Angels in the series and has the Grand Priest revert Buu back into Grand Supreme Kai.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Krillin's honest explanation to Raditz of how he became a Saiyan is heard by Vegeta and Nappa through their scouters, prompting them to decide to take a little road trip to Earth to deal with the upstart... and potentially make some wishes of their own.
  • When Krillin and Lazuli managed to invoke some sort of Heel–Face Turn in Majin Buu, Shin comes in to seal away the Majin in his containment sphere behind everyone's back. When Majin Buu eventually does break free, he is not happy, and his first act of revenge involves killing Kibito and Shin after being transported to Earth, which also means Beerus suffers from Death by Adaptation here.
  • Then, when Krillin and Vegeta managed to calm Buu down from his rampage, Goku comes in delivering a full-power Kamehameha that tears through half of Buu under the assumption that Krillin was about to be killed.
• No Challenge Equals No Satisfaction:
  • It's stated that there is an 'unwritten rule' where the majority of the heroes have quietly resolved not to use the Dragon Balls to make themselves stronger. Krillin unwittingly and unknowingly goes against this when he wishes to become more like Goku.
  • Goku turns down Guru's offer to unlock his true potential, stating that he'd rather earn it through time and training.
  • Vegeta considers using the Dragon Balls to have Shenron remove Krillin's Saiyan heritage, but ultimately refuses because Krillin's presence and strength gives him something to strive for and improve himself.
• No-Nonsense Nemesis: Krillin takes this approach after going Super Saiyan, outright refusing Freeza's offer for a better fight despite his enhanced Saiyan impulses pushing him to accept and immediately begins beating Freeza to death despite the tyrant's attempts to assume his full power.
• No Time to Explain: Said word-for-word by Vegeta when he's desperate to arrange an Enemy Mine deal with Krillin and Gohan before the Ginyu Force arrive.
• Oh, Crap!: After defeating Ginyu, Vegeta flees with Dende and the Senzu Beans, leaving a beaten and paralyzed Krillin behind with an angry Burter and Guldo.
• Pragmatic Hero: Zig-Zagged with Krillin. While he often vies to take down opponents as quickly as possible, there are times where his Saiyan pride overrides his better judgment.
• Pride: A recurrent theme:
  • Among the changes made to Krillin's physiology and psychology is the natural Saiyan drive to challenge themselves and seek out stronger opponents. These instincts drive him to make more impulsive decisions at times, such as asking Goku to let him challenge Vegeta solo after dealing with Nappa.
  • Raditz and Vegeta both see Krillin's existence as a 'fake Saiyan' as a personal insult. This spurs the latter to reject Nappa's suggestion that they use the Dragon Balls to create more Saiyans in the same fashion.
  • Piccolo's pride is stung by how Goku and Krillin grew stronger than him, especially since the latter used Shenron to raise himself to the former's level. He feels further insulted by how Goku focuses on Krillin instead of him after their successful takedown of Raditz, seeing his contributions as being overlooked. He also rejects Kami's request to meet up with him afterwards, with Kami directly blaming that on Piccolo's pride.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Goku gives a brief one to Vegeta while ordering him to get Bulma to safety:
  Goku: You are in no position to argue. I'm telling you, take her back to the ship. I know you can sense energy, and I know that you're smarter than what your actions have suggested. Do the right thing for once, and stay out've our way.
• Saying Too Much:
  • When Raditz reveals Goku's alien origins, Krillin realizes what this means for him and blurts out "I'm a Saiyan?!" in his shock, drawing Raditz's attention as well as that of his other friends.
  • Krillin reveals the existence of the Dragon Balls while explaining to Raditz how he became a Saiyan, enabling Vegeta and Nappa to overhear through their scouters.
  • While defending his desire to help Krillin deal with Vegeta on Namek, Gohan declares that "I'm tired of being cooped up in that base!" Vegeta immediately realizes this means there are more of them around.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • King Cold's soldiers don't get involved in the fighting and flee after he dies.
  • Goku never dies in this timeline. Krillin's involvement in the fight against Raditz prevents Goku needing to hold Raditz in place for Piccolo to use the Makankosappo. And the Dragon Team destroy Cell in a group ki barrage.
  • Vegeta never dies in this timeline. He survives the fight against Freeza and Vegeta never uses the Final Explosion on Majin Buu.
• Super Mode: Krillin focused more strongly on learning Kaioken rather than learning the Spirit Bomb, meaning it's far more stable than Goku's. This allows him to spam it more often and he can maintain x3 for longer. King Kai is impressed.
  • Piccolo ends up getting the hang of Kaioken x50 after being taught Kaioken by Krillin. By the Buu Saga, he's unlocked Kaioken x100 but can only use it in very short bursts.
  • Because of Krillin's unique mastery of Kaioken and Super Saiyan, he and King Kai manage to find a way to combine the two safely. Goku also learns the form which they dub the Saiyaken.
• Taking You with Me: Krillin manages to kill Frieza by grappling onto and steering him into his own deflected Death Ball. This results in Freeza's death and Krillin's second death, but Krillin's brought back by the Namekian Dragon Balls.
• Tempting Fate:
  • While brooding over the role he played in helping save the Earth from Raditz, Piccolo thinks 'If only his dad could see him right now'. Kami immediately contacts him to warn him about the impending threat of the other Saiyans.
  • When Burter declares that he'll handle Krillin alone "even if it kills me," Krillin responds "Your words, not mine" before taking him down hard.
• A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: When Krillin consults Master Roshi, wanting to ask his advice about the best way to become stronger like Goku, Roshi is busy watching his 'movies'. Rather than pausing to pay attention to his student, he irritably snaps "Why don't you use the Dragon Balls?"
• Trickster Mentor: King Kai constantly makes short jokes at Krillin's expense while he and Goku train and get the hang of the Kaioken. Because of this, Krillin learns to ignore remarks about his height when fighting Vegeta and Nappa.
• Underestimating Badassery: Despite Jeice's warnings and offering to help, Burter insists that he can handle Krillin alone. He's wrong.
• Villain Respect:
  • Raditz shows this to Krillin before he inevitably dies.
  • Vegeta begrudgingly remarks that Krillin's Heroic Sacrifice against Frieza means that he "went out like a Saiyan".
• Wrong Assumption: Krillin presumes that Kami and the others spent the period of time they had before the Saiyans arrived gathering the Dragon Balls so that they could wish him and Goku back to Earth from King Kai's instantly. Kami admits that they hadn't considered that kind of precaution, much to Krillin's panic.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Goku isn't bothered by Krillin 'cheating', seeing his wish as no big deal. After handling Raditz, he reassures him:
  Goku: That's not how a Saiyan would think! I should know. I'm one of them, apparently. You've got to use what you've got, and promise to train hard from now on to justify having this power. Okay?
• Your Approval Fills Me with Shame:
  • Piccolo invokes this by sarcastically complimenting Krillin, remarking that he'd make a fine demon with his deviousness.
  • Frieza similarly 'compliments' Krillin for striking him In the Back while he was busy taunting Vegeta:
    Frieza: (pained) If it weren't for the fact that (wheezes) you're my enemy... I'd be proud of that.

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