Tien Shinhan/Power and Abilities

Power

Main article: List of Power Levels

Manga and Anime

Tien Shinhan is one of the strongest humans on Earth in the series. His power level is 180 during the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament and is implied to have a strength that surpasses even that of Master Shen. In that tournament, he was able to defeat Yamcha after a good fight (though according to Master Shen, he was far from his full power). In the semifinals, he is able to fight on par with a serious Master Roshi in an intense fight, though he was again implied to be holding back. His power was on par with Goku's in the finals, and after a long fight, Tien manages to win the tournament. Though he later admits that he won by pure luck and felt that Goku was stronger.

Against King Piccolo in his old state, Roshi said Tien was no match for him. He was dominated by Drum, one of King Piccolo's minions, who is weaker than King Piccolo in his young state. He then goes with Krillin, Yamcha and Chiaotzu to train with Korin, and trains for 3 years for the next tournament.

In the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, he easily dominates Mercenary Tao in his cyborg form, who is stated to be many times stronger than his organic self. In the semifinals, he fights equally against Goku while using his weighted clothing (with Tien noting that Goku is stronger than he was against King Piccolo). Goku was stronger, but Tien manages to be faster than him (Goku was said by Tien to have the same speed he had 3 years ago against King Piccolo). Tien's speed is so great that makes Yamcha and Krillin not being able to see him at all. However, once Goku removes his weighted clothing, his speed and strength are way higher than anything Tien is capable of doing. Tien also admits that Hero (who is actually Kami possessing him) and Piccolo (the reincarnation of King Piccolo) surpass any level ordinarily conceivable, indicating he was no match for any of them.

In the beginning of Dragon Ball Z, Tien's power level is 250. After training at Kami's Lookout for a year, his power level rises to 1,830.

While on King Kai's planet, Tien noted that he cannot surpass Goku (from the Vegeta Saga) by doing the same training as him. In anime filler of the Frieza Saga, while training on King Kai's planet; Tien (working with both Chiaotzu and Yamcha) was able to give Piccolo a hard time during the sparring match. Later he was able to fight and defeat both Jeice and Burter of the Ginyu Force, despite being double-teamed.

In the Android Saga, Tien manages to dodge Dr. Gero's eye beams that he used to kill civilians. Later upon seeing the weakened Super Saiyan Goku, Tien is shocked at his power and states that the dimensions of their power are too far apart, and according to Piccolo, Tien is no match for Dr. Gero. Gero believes that if he takes the energy of Tien, Krillin, Gohan and Piccolo - he will be able to defeat Super Saiyan Vegeta. Even working together with Krillin, the two Earthlings are unable to break the door to Gero's lab, while base Vegeta is able to easily destroy it. When attempting to attack Android 17 alongside Piccolo, Tien is knocked down in one blow, and then choked into unconsciousness. Later Tien proves to be able to hold off Semi-Perfect Cell using his Neo Tri-Beam. He is utterly decimated by a Cell Jr. when the small Bio-Androids attack, and only survives because the Cell Juniors were suppressing their power as they were ordered not to kill the Z-Fighters. Nevertheless, even in the manga version of the fight, Tien was able to land a single punch on the Cell Jr. that he was fighting; thus, making him, Piccolo, Trunks and Vegeta, the only warriors able to even hit the little monsters.

In the Majin Buu Saga, Tien's Tri-Beam is able to stop a Finger Beam from Super Buu (with Gotenks and Piccolo absorbed) that was aimed at Dende and Mr. Satan - however upon seeing Buu's charged energy ball - Tien noted it was beyond him. Tien is later knocked out by Buu with one surprise kick to the head, Buu then tells Goku that while Tien was apparently quite a master - he was knocked down with just one mere kick.

In the manga version of Dragon Ball: The Return of Son Goku and Friends!, Tien is intimidated by Aka's Full Power Wahaha no Ha.

In Dragon Ball Super, Tien Shinhan attacks Beerus alongside Piccolo and Android 18, but the three are easily beaten by the God of Destruction. By the time of the Golden Frieza Saga, Tien Shinhan has strength enough to take out many of Frieza's soldiers. Nonetheless, he is no match for Shisami and Tagoma (the latter having powered up greatly thanks to training with Frieza). After Tagoma's body has been taken by Captain Ginyu, Tien gets beaten easily with a quick punch. In the manga version of Resurrection ‘F’, Tien defeats the Frieza Soldiers with even greater ease, and does not take any damage at all during the battle, he also never has to use his Tri-Beam.

In the anime version of the Universe Survival Saga, while fighting against his own students, whom were under Yurin's mind control, he subdued some of them with relative ease, and was able to outmatch base Roshi, however, Tien decides to be more serious when Roshi goes into his Max Power state. Tien used his Four Witches Technique and charged at Roshi but was stunned when Roshi counted him by using his Thunder Shock Surprise. Goku later stated that Roshi must have been doing secret training and had hidden his true power. Later when working with Goku against Gohan and Piccolo, Tien was easily overpowered by the half-Saiyan.

During the anime version of the Tournament of Power, rather than going off on his own, Tien chose to remain with Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin and Master Roshi - they launched an assault that caused little to no damage against Lavender, Botamo, Comfrey, Shosa and Dercori. While working in tandem with Master Roshi, his Neo Tri-Beam was powerful enough to knock Za Priccio out of the arena. When using his Multi-Form to divide in four, each having one-quarter the normal power, while three of his copies were easily defeated by Harmira, his final self, was able to severely damage Hermila with his Neo Tri-Beam. This forced the opponent to instead rely on trickery, destroying a portion of the area forcing a ring-out on Tien. However, showing such drive and focus, his remaining three copies went to hold Hermila, drawing the Universe 2 fighter out of the ring for a double elimination. Tien's efforts earned him the praise of Beerus.

In the manga, Tien, along with Master Roshi, were outmatched by Frost. Tien fired a full power Tri-Beam, which Roshi claimed was overdoing it, but even this was completely ineffective against Frost despite the warrior from Universe 6 took the attack head on. Frost was then able to knock out Tien with a super punch.

In the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, Tien and Chaiotzu are briefly shown handling themselves against Bikkura Quoitur (although Tien couldn't make any real headway against the Metalman).

Films

In Mystical Adventure, Tien defeats Master Roshi in a single hit. His Tri-Beam also blows away Master Shen.

In The Tree of Might, Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu are both defeated easily by Rasin and Lakasei but were shown to have somewhat affected them when firing blasts together. Rasin had a power level of 8,000 and Lakasei had a power level of 7,600. Tien had not yet trained under King Kai (the movie was supposed to take place after Vegeta's defeat but before Namek, which is an inconsistency because Tien along with Chiaotzu, Yamcha, and Piccolo are alive).

During the Intergalactic Tournament in Bojack Unbound, Tien Shinhan is shown to fight on par against Future Trunks, a Saiyan/Human hybrid who trained twice in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, until the latter transformed into a Super Saiyan and defeats him. Later on, when confronting the Galaxy Soldiers, Tien was easily beaten in two hits by Bujin.

In Battle of Gods, Tien faces Beerus alongside Android 18 and Piccolo but is easily thrown aside by him.

Tien vs. Frieza's Army

In Resurrection ‘F’, Tien could take on several of Frieza's Soldiers, however he did later appear to have gotten very minor injuries and took a Senzu Bean afterwards. He (like Krillin and Master Roshi) would not be a match against Frieza's elite soldier Shisami.

Abilities

• Techniques
• Forms and Power ups
• Fusions
• Equipment

• Flight – The capability to fly by using the ki. At first, this technique was used only by Tien and Chiaotzu, then it was learnt also by all the Z Warriors, except for Yajirobe and Master Roshi.

Tien fires a Ki Blast at Goku

• Ki Blast – The most basic form of energy wave.
• Ki Sense – The ability to sense the energy of other beings.
• Domination Blast – A combination of many energy waves, much more powerful than the average ki blasts and fired at a very rapid rate. The name of Tien's Renzoku Energy Dan (Continuous Ki Blast) technique he uses in the Butōden series and Budokai series.
• Kiai – A technique where the user affects the air currents around him with ki to produce powerful shockwaves in order to strike the opponent at mid-range. In the Raging Blast series, it is known as Kiai Return and is Tien Shinhan's signature attack.

Tien using Super Dodon Ray in Dragon Ball Fusions

• Dodon Ray – The signature finger beam technique of the Crane School invented by Master Shen.
  • Neo Dodon Ray - A very powerful version of the Dodon Ray. Used in Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit.
  • Super Dodon Ray - A stronger version of the Dodon Ray invented by Chiaotzu that Tien uses as a Special Move in Dragon Ball Fusions.
    • Ultra Dodon Ray - A version of the Dodon Ray stronger than Chiaotzu's Super Dodon Ray. One of Tien's Special Moves in Dragon Ball Fusions.
• Super Knee Uppercut – A diving knee attack to break the opponent's leg, causing an extreme amount of damage. Named in Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22.

Tien performs his Hammerhead attack

• Hammerhead – A flying headbutt technique. Named in the Butōden series.
• Machine Gun Punch – Tien swings his arms so fast they appear to be windmills on his shoulder and pummels his opponent uncountable times. It is called Jackhammer Fist in the Budokai series.
• Machinegun Fist – The name of Tien's High Speed Rush in the Budokai series.
• Jackhammer Fist Flash – Tien kicks the opponent up in the air, and then he kicks and punches them down again. Used in the Budokai series.
• Volleyball Attack – Tien uses his opponent as a ball and makes them fly with two hits before giving a final blow to stamp them into the ring.

Tien using the Four Witches Technique

• Four Witches Technique – The user temporarily grows two extra arms from the back, seemingly under the shoulder blades. This allows the user to attack with twice the intensity that they would normally be capable of.
• Multi-Form – Tien splits himself into four identical copies, with all the same power.
  • Ki Blast Cannon – Tien holds out both palms, one behind the other. He then charges up and fires a beam similar in appearance to a large Dodon Ray. In the Budokai series, the Ki Blast Cannon is fired in the same fashion as the Tri-Beam.
  • Mystery Ray – Tien fires a straight white beam from his third eye. Named in Ultimate Battle 22.
  • Multi-Form Attack – Tien uses the Multi-Form to split himself into four identical copies and then, at the same time, each copy fires a Ki Blast Cannon. Named in Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans, the technique is alternatively Multi-Form Tri-Beam in the Gokuden series.
• Meteo Brute Combo – Tien creates a copy of himself, and then both attack the opponent with the Machine Gun Punch at the same time. It is his Meteor Attack in Ultimate Battle 22

Tien fires Neo Tri-Beam at Cell

• Tri-Beam – Tien forms a vaguely diamond-shape "tunnel" with the hand's by keeping the fingers on each hand together, overlapping the index finger on the one hand with the pinky of the other hand, and overlapping the thumbs. The object being focused on gets zoomed in on and visualized inside that diamond, then he shouts "Tri-Beam, ha!" while releasing the large yellow beam from the hands. It is called Ki Blast Cannon in Budokai series.
  • Spirit Tri-Beam – A one handed version of the Tri-Beam, which uses Tien's life energy.
  • Neo Tri-Beam – A significantly more powerful version of the Tri-Beam.
  • Surprise Technique – The Tri-Beam technique used against Super Buu. Named in the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.

Tien using Solar Flare

• Solar Flare – The user places their hands close to the center of their face with the fingers spread toward their eyes. The user then calls out the name of the technique, which provokes a white light to fire out and blind everything watching except the user, since they are projecting the light. Tien called it "Solar Flare of Crane School" because at that time he was Master Shen's pupil.
  • Final Solar Flare – A technique where Tien uses a Solar Flare followed by his Mystery Ray. This attack appears in Attack of the Saiyans.
  • Heavenly Sunlight – A combined Solar Flare attack used with Krillin in Attack of the Saiyans.
• Afterimage Technique – An ability to move so swiftly that an image of the user is left behind. Tien uses a variation of the afterimage, the Wild Sense, in the Budokai Tenkaichi series.
• Mimicry – The coveted ability to copy another fighter's technique after seeing it used only once.
• Kamehameha – A powerful Ki blast fired with two hands after concentrating a large amount of Ki. In Dragon Ball Xenoverse, it appears as one of Tien's Super Skills in his 2nd Skillset.
  • Kamehameha Deflection - The user forms a hand seal, focusing their energy around their body, and, judging the timing of the Kamehameha, the user releases a kiai which deflects the Kamehameha back in the direction of their opponent. Due to the shocking nature of the technique, it includes a surprise factor that catches the opponent off-guard, ensuring the collision of the energy wave.

Tien uses the Evil Containment Wave

• Evil Containment Wave – A technique designed to seal demons away by sucking them into a container with a special "Demon Seal" ofuda on it. The move requires huge stamina and endurance to perform, if user does not have enough life force they will die soon after performing it, despite the success of the technique.
• Power Stance – A special fighting stance. Named in the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.
• You Can't Tuna Fish - A gag technique used by Tien to make King Kai laugh in order to train under him. Named in Dragon Ball Fusions.
• Telepathy – A way to communicate with others using one's mind.
• Telekinesis – A technique that allows the user to manipulate objects and other people with the power of one's mind. In the anime, Tien is shown using this to halt the waterfall near his home during the Vegeta saga.
• Fusion Dance – Tien is able to use the fusion dance with Yamcha to form Tiencha, only in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 and Dragon Ball Fusions.
  • EX-Fusion - By wearing a Metamo-Ring and performing the fusion dance, Tien can fuse with Yamcha to form EX Yamhan.
• Spirit Boost – The user protects themselves from Ki Blasts by using a Kiai to negate the attack. Used in Xenoverse.
• Spirit Ball - A controllable energy sphere originally used by Yamcha. After 1.09.00 Update in Xenoverse 2, this Ultimate Skill can be added to Tien's custom skillset after purchasing it in Partner Customization.
  • Spirit Explosion - A powerful two-handed Kiai originally used by Goku. It appears as part of his Qipao skillset in Xenoverse 2 and can be added to his custom skillset via Partner Customization.

Unlock Potential

Main article: Unlock Potential In Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiya Densetsu, Tien can have his potential unlocked by Grand Elder Guru if he survives the events of the game's Saiyan conflict and travels to Namek with Krillin and Gohan.

Supervillain

Main article: Supervillain In Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Tien is enchanted with Towa's Supervillain spell in Parallel Quest 53: "The Fist of Justice" granting him the first stage power-up version at the cost of having some of his life shaved off to grant him said power. He appears after the enchanted Yamcha or Krillin is defeated. In this state, he becomes brainwashed making him aggressive and violent attacking Great Saiyaman 1 & Great Saiyaman 2 whom fail to get him to snap out of it by reminding him of Chiaotzu, forcing the Saiya Squad and Time Patrol to defeat him to remove the enhancement. This power-up causes minor physically changes such as his eyes glowing pink and gain a sinister black-white aura. Interestingly, his third eye does not glow pink in this form as his other eyes do (this may however be due to game mechanics as presumably the developers used the same glowing eye effect for all characters as Tien and Guldo are the only characters with more than two eyes).

Saiyaman-like Costume

Main article: Great Saiyaman Suit

In Dragon Ball Online, the 87-year-old Tien Shinhan dons a Saiyaman-like costume to hide his identity while combating the remnants of the Frieza Force that invade Earth in Age 820 after the death of Mr. Satan.

Tiencha

Main article: Tiencha

Tiencha

Tiencha is the fusion of Tien Shinhan and his ally Yamcha. He appears in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 and Dragon Ball Fusions.

Chiaohan

Main article: Chiaohan Chiaohan is the EX-Fusion of Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu. He appears in Dragon Ball Fusions.

EX Yamhan

Main article: EX Yamhan The EX-Fusion of Tien and Yamcha introduced in Dragon Ball Fusions. He is Tiencha's EX Fusion counterpart. Though weaker than his Metamoran Fusion counterpart, EX Yamhan can remain fused as long as he wears his Metamo-Ring.

Crane School Uniform

Main article: Crane School Uniform The signature gi of the Crane School.

Electric Rice Cooker

Main article: Electric Rice Cooker

Weighted Clothing

Main article: Weighted Clothing Clothing fitted with built-in weights to make them heavier than ordinary clothes.

Senzu Bean

Main article: Senzu Bean

Mystical beans with immense rejuvenation properties.