Back in the days of Dragon Ball, the ability to fly was such a rare technique. Only those who had undergone intense special training or were born with wings could pull it off, which was what made Goku's Flying Nimbus such a valuable item.
Despite not yet learning how to fly, Goku was still able to travel the world without having to trek through Earth's dangerous wilderness. And although fans everywhere can appreciate the Flying Nimbus for giving us our first taste of flight in this amazing franchise, we're still scratching our heads over some things that just aren't right about this magical cloud.
10 It's Colored Gold
Clouds are made out of water vapor or tiny particles of ice, and the sunlight reflecting through them is what gives them that familiar white hue. If the Flying Nimbus is a cloud, shouldn't it follow these same rules, especially given the fact that the Dragon Ball world has plenty of white clouds?
We get that coloring it cold immediately sets it apart from weather-related clouds, but just what exactly is the Flying Nimbus made of that gives it its unique color?
9 It Can Support Over 100 Pounds
Who could forget the moment that Goku leaped down into the clouds to choose a new Flying Nimbus after Tambourine, one of King Piccolo's sons, had destroyed his old Nimbus? Yajirobe closed his eyes, thinking that Goku would plummet through the clouds, but the Nimbus can even support the weight of a full-grown adult, just as long as they have a pure heart. We've never even seen the Nimbus become weighed down despite how many passengers were on it at one time.
We know we'll never get one, but an explanation as to why the Nimbus can actually hold several pounds of weight will save us a lot of anxiety the day Goku, Goten, Trunks, and Gohan decide to ride that thing all at once.
8 It Can Hear/Find It's Owner From Anywhere In The World
The Flying Nimbus isn't always by Goku's side. Whenever he's needed it, a simple shout will call it right to his precise location. But how does this make sense? Last time we checked, the Nimbus doesn't have eyes or ears. It's just a cloud, and we're not even sure if it's alive.
Even in Dragon Ball Super, when Goku hadn't used the Nimbus in years, it was still able to hear him in a place as remote as the Forest of Terror. Was it sensing his ki all along, maybe? We thought that too, but Goku was actually suppressing his ki in the Forest of Terror, which is why he opted to use the Nimbus in the first place.
7 Gohan Can Still Ride It In High School
Besides children, Goku and Gohan are the only characters above the age of 16 who've been shown to ride the Flying Nimbus. While his ability to still ride the Nimbus implies that he is pure of heart, his actions often dictate otherwise. When he fought Cell, he didn't finish him off immediately as a Super Saiyan 2 because he wanted to make him suffer, something that is far from the innocent child he used to be.
Sure, a Super Saiyan isn't completely pure of heart, but they've also never really acted far out of character. The fact that Gohan even began to pursue women when he began high school should disqualify him from riding the Nimbus! We're not saying that Gohan is a bad guy. We just find it hard to believe that Gohan can still ride the Nimbus when he's demonstrated his capacity for moral perversion.
6 Goku Can Still Ride It In Dragon Ball Super
The fact that Goku can still ride the Nimbus after having children is astronomical! The childhood innocence that made him so pure is definitely gone with the wind! Of course, after learning that he's never kissed Chi-Chi before, this makes a little more sense, but Goku's heart definitely isn't as pure as it used to be. When facing powerful opponents, he's shown us just how quick he is to anger, and at times he can be pretty devious and conniving.
Who forget the moment he threatened to kill Shin, who, as far as he knew at the time, was the highest-ranking god in existence! Though his reasoning was legit, the fact that he's even allowed his dark side to take control of his actions has proven that his mind no longer works as it did when he first met Bulma all those years ago.
5 Rarity on Earth
After Goku took down the Red Ribbon Army stronghold in Jingle Village, he grew distraught after remembering that his Flying Nimbus had been destroyed. The mayor and one of the village elders knew exactly what a Flying Nimbus was, and even revealed that they used to be plentiful in the village generations ago when more children lived there. We're certain that Jingle Village couldn't have been an isolated incident.
Given the fact that Korin has a stash of Flying Nimbuses, there should be more of them all over the Dragon Ball world reserved for pure-hearted children and warriors all across the Dragon Ball world. So what exactly happened that made them such a rarity? It just doesn't make sense for all of the Nimbus clouds to just depart, and even if they did, couldn't the past owners just call their past Flying Nimbuses to hand down to the next generation?
4 People Who Can't Ride It Can Still Summon It
After Goku rescued one of Master Roshi's closest friends, the slightly aloof sea turtle who coincidentally goes by the name Turtle, Master Roshi decided to give Goku one of his most prized possessions: the Flying Nimbus.
After explaining that he used to ride it back in the day, he jumped onto it, only to fall right through the gold-colored cloud, since he lost his pure spirit decades ago. For someone who isn't anywhere close to meeting the requirements to ride a Flying Nimbus, it's pretty peculiar that he's still able to summon it to his location.
3 Korin Can Force The Nimbus To Drop People
After reaching the top of Korin's Tower, fans expected Mercenary Tao to take Korin's life. Seeking the same power boost that Goku got after climbing the tower, he was given useless Sacred Water and a one-way trip down on a Dark Nimbus cloud, which is ultimately the same as a Flying Nimbus, except those with evil hearts can ride it. But before Tao could even make it halfway down Korin's Tower, Korin manipulated the Dark Nimbus, forcing it to drop Tao mid-flight.
We've never seen him do this with the Flying Nimbus, but given that he is the owner of this magical cloud, its reasonable to believe that he can also do this with them as well, despite never demonstrating a propensity for advanced magic in the series.
2 The Origin Of The Enormous Nimbus
After Tambourine destroyed Goku's faithful Nimbus cloud with a powerful ki blast, fans thought that Goku would just have to learn how to fly the hard way. Instead, Korin summoned an Enormous Nimbus cloud that was made out of thousands of other Nimbuses for him to pick a new one from. But where on earth did this huge Nimbus come from?
When it appeared, it was slow-moving, and we're shocked that no one ever spotted it before. Was this where Goku's original Nimbus went every time he wasn't using it? He referenced Goku's old Nimbus as being an "old model", so how in the heck are new models being created?
1 Can Go Faster Than The Speed of Sound
According to Daizenshuu 4, one of the many Dragon Ball guidebooks written by some of Toriyama's past collaborators, the Flying Nimbus' top speed is Mach 1.5. Goku's definitely pushed his Nimbus close to that in some of his fights, like when he attempted to use its speed to dazzle Tambourine, but Goku shouldn't be able to stay on for the ride without any type of foothold. Mach 1.5 translates roughly to a speed of 1,150 miles per hour.
If he wanted to, Goku could fly around the entire Earth in less than a day without expending his own energy. He should immediately be ejected the moment he tries to reach this speed, but then again, it wouldn't make for a good Dragon Ball story if Goku died from a fall, would it?