Instant Transmission

Directory: Techniques → Supportive Techniques → Movement techniques

Instant Transmission (瞬しゅん間かん移い動どう, Shunkan Idō, lit. "Instantaneous Movement", also translated as "Teleportation") is a technique for traveling long distances instantly. It was taught to Goku when he was on Planet Yardrat after his deadly battle with Frieza.

Overview

This action is usually accompanied by the user placing his index and middle fingers on his forehead to help him concentrate, though if extra time is taken the technique can be performed without this aid.

In the movies, its seen that utilizing Instant Transmission causes the user to go into a "Teleportation Zone" (瞬間移動空間, Shunkan Idō Kūkan), and then drop out of it somewhere else by locking onto ki. If two users of Instant Transmission enter the zone they are capable of interacting with each other. The teleportation zone is seen in Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler, where Goku and Meta-Cooler both enter the zone and fight each other.^[1] It is also briefly seen in Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan, where Goku uses it to get to the South Area.

It is revealed in The Return of Cooler, that this move briefly moves the user into a pocket dimension which then allows them to move to any location instantly. However, the user cannot travel to an area they have never been to unless they can detect someone familiar to them to use as a homing beacon.

GokuITCellSaga — Goku ready to translocate himself

Instant Transmission allows Goku and anyone that is in physical contact with him to instantly travel great distances (from meters to light-years, between the living world and Other World, or even travel outside time itself) just by concentrating on a particular individual's ki signature, and transmitting or feeling that being's location. Goku can take passengers along with him as long as they are touching him. In Dragon Ball GT, it is revealed that this ability has limits, as Goku said he could not move the entire world's population in one trip.^[10]

Because Instant Transmission requires a ki signature to lock onto (whereas Kai Kai does not), the successful performance of the technique is dependent on one's ability to detect them. For example, during the Kid Buu Saga, Goku proclaimed to Dende that he could not travel to New Namek because their ki signatures were too far away.

Goku describes the technique as more complicated than traditional teleportation, but merging your energy into a certain area and demolecularize into all of your atoms and being transferred across the Teleportation Zone, and reassembling in the area where the locked-on signature resides.

Usage

The technique has many practical uses throughout the series. The Yardrats taught Instant Transmission to Goku during his time on their planet. Goku intended to use the technique to get to Earth before the rebuilt Frieza could harm anyone, but found it unnecessary because Future Trunks had already come to finish Frieza and his father off. Instead, Goku simply demonstrated its ability to the fellow Z Fighters after his return by warping to Kame House and stealing Master Roshi's sunglasses in under a few seconds. Throughout the rest of the series, Goku uses the technique often to travel around the universe. Goku can also use two of his signature attacks with this technique, the Instant Kamehameha and the Instant Spirit Bomb.

SuperPerfectCellInstantTransmission — Cell using Instant Transmission

After blowing up King Kai's planet and killing everyone on it, Cell gained the ability to use Instant Transmission from Goku. He then uses it after regenerating to return to Earth.

In the special Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!, Goku uses the Instant Transmission to warp everybody to the radish field without looking for a ki.

He uses the technique during his battle against Beerus, while fighting with him in a subterranean cavern.^[11]

In Dragon Ball Super, when Goten is distracted by Goku's training and drives his tractor off a cliff, Goku uses Instant Transmission to teleport ahead of the vehicle and catch it, and he uses it when he goes to King Kai's planet.^[12]

It is revealed that Goku Black is also able to use this technique, first using it on-screen to try and locate Future Trunks' ki prior to him using the time machine, and he also uses it several times as a Super Saiyan Rosé in his fight with Super Saiyan Blue Goku, who notes he is surprised he also knows the Instant Transmission.

Vegito Blue uses Instant Transmission against Fused Zamasu to use Savage Strike against him.

Goku also requires much less concentration to use the technique, as shown in his fight with Top.

Goku tries to use Instant Transmission against Dyspo while in Super Saiyan God form but Dyspo is so fast Goku gets punched before he can react and use the technique.

Super Saiyan 4 Goku using Instant Transmission

When Goku became a child in Dragon Ball GT, the ability to use this technique was greatly hindered to the point where he just randomly travels to places a short distance away; however, as a Super Saiyan 4, he is able to use the ability to its full potential. When he is given energy by Goten, Trunks, and Gohan during the battle against Syn Shenron, Goku is able to properly use Instant Transmission.

Variations

Instant Kamehameha - A Kamehameha combined with Instant Transmission to force the target to take the energy wave point blank.
- Instant Transmission Super Kamehameha - A combination of Instant Transmission and Super Kamehameha.
Teleporting Vanishing Ball - Kid Buu uses Instant Transmission/Instant Movement to teleport before firing his Vanishing Ball.
Instant Transmission From the Afterlife (Anoyo Kara Shunkan Idō)^[1] - The Instant Transmission used by Goku in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound, allowing Goku to briefly break the rules of Other World and return to the world of the living for a short time.
Instant Transmission through Time - Goku uses Instant Transmission to travel from Age 778 to Toki Toki City in Age 850 to aid the Time Patrol in combating the evil Demigra in Dragon Ball Xenoverse. Likely the result of the Supreme Kai of Time's enlisting Goku's aid in combating the Demon God. It also allows Goku (albeit with some difficulty) to travel into (and out of) the Crack of Time, to the surprise of Demigra who had been previously trapped there for centuries.
Kai Kai - A more advanced version which does not require an energy signature. It is called Instant Transmission in several media, including Shin Budokai.
Hyper Movement - A variation used by Cooler and Meta-Cooler where he teleports, then attacks as soon as he reappears. Appears in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 as Cooler and Metal Cooler's signature Evasive Skill. It can also be obtained and used by the Future Warrior as well.
Feint Crash - A rush attack variation used by Cooler and Meta-Cooler in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 as one of their Super Skills. It can also be learned by the Future Warrior during Cooler's Training as part of the Masters Pack DLC.
Sudden Death Beam - A counterattack variation used by Super Saiyan Rosé Goku Black which was named in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. If the user is attacked before teleporting they will teleport behind the opponent and attack with Divine Retribution.

Trivia

In the Cell Games Saga, King Kai states in filler that he knew the Instant Transmission technique and that he could have taught it to Goku if he had asked. If King Kai was not kidding, this would conflict with a previous statement he makes in the Vegeta Saga where he specifically says that he couldn't "just zap" Goku back to Earth. Also, in the Frieza Saga, King Kai stated that there was nothing he could do to help Goku escape the exploding planet Namek, whereas if he knew Instant Transmission he could have traveled to Namek and rescued Goku. One theory is that this could have been because both cases would have involved going to the living realm, something which only the Eastern Supreme Kai and Old Kai are known to have done; however, this still would not explain why King Kai could not simply zap Goku to King Yemma's Check-In Station, saving Goku the two-day trip back to Snake Way.
In Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II, after Goku uses this move to take Piccolo and Tien to safety, Cell states that he wishes he knew how to do this move. However, in the anime and manga, Cell has no idea what was this technique was.
The Ocean dub named the technique the "Instant Translocation" technique. Translocation by definition means "a change of location." Transmit means to send something to another location. Therefore, Instant Translocation means instantly changing location, while Instant Transmission means instantly sending something to another location. Though it can be argued that the users of Instant Transmission send themselves to another location, person, or thing, Instant Translocation technically has a slightly more correct definition despite not being the official name.
In the 37th episode of Dragon Ball GT, "Old Kai's Last Stand", when Kibito Kai goes back to Kami's Lookout a second time (after he came back to the Sacred World of the Kais to ask where the Sacred Water was), he uses the Instant Transmission gesture of placing the first two fingers of the users' hand to their forehead and he still has his fingers to his forehead when arriving on the lookout. This later happens in the 40th episode of Dragon Ball GT, "Piccolo's Decision", as well: when Kibito Kai comes from New Planet Plant to Earth (after this occurrence, however, Kibito Kai does not use the Instant Transmission gesture when teleporting in the rest of the episode). He also uses the gesture in the Budokai Tenkaichi series.
The FUNimation dub states that this technique allows the user to travel at the speed of light, this is not possible, as Goku has been seen using it to travel to other planets and even galaxies in a literal instant. Given that the distances from other solar systems would take light entire years to travel across, this would not be possible.
In Dragon Ball Xenoverse, the Instant Transmission technique is revealed to even be able in allowing its user to teleport into a dimension outside of time itself. As Goku did so in order to follow Démigra into the Crack of Time. However, Goku admitted that it was very difficult in doing so and Démigra was shocked that Goku could actually enter the Crack of Time using a technique as simple as Instant Transmission, as Démigra himself had spent 75 million years trying to escape from there and probably realized that if he had known the dimension could be reached by Instant Transmission then it could also be used as a means of escape, meaning had Démigra known the technique he could have escaped much sooner.
In Dragon Ball FighterZ, Android 21 learns how to use Instant Transmission after watching Goku perform it. Goku remarks that this is identical to what Buu did. However, Kid Buu instead copied Kai Kai, after Shin used it to save Goku and the others. Though, it possible that Goku was simply referring to 21 being adept at Mimicry in general. In gameplay, Android 21 gains Instant Transmission after successfully landing Connoisseur Cut on Kid Buu, Captain Ginyu, Frieza, Beerus, Hit or Piccolo.