Yamcha is now claiming that he alone is Earth's strongest martial artist, putting himself above the likes of Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Piccolo.
Yamcha's level of delusion has reached an all-time high in the Dragon Ball franchise as he now believes he's the world's greatest martial artist in Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultra God Mission. Almost every arc of Dragon Ball after the introduction of Yamcha has only served to further humiliate and deteriorate his character. Yamcha has famously been the butt of many jokes throughout Dragon Ball, and even his death pose became an iconic part of the franchise.
When Yamcha was first introduced in Dragon Ball chapter 7, he posed a significant threat to Goku, Oolong, and Bulma because of his martial arts prowess and weapon mastery. Yamcha was the first opponent to really push Goku to his limits. The powerful and fearsome Wolf Fang Fist was more than capable of knocking Goku through stone pillars with little effort. Unfortunately, things went downhill from Yamcha almost immediately. Even in the arc he was introduced in, he was continuously put in scenarios where his gag of being afraid of women would cause him severe embarrassment.
In Dragon Ball Z, Yamcha famously dies while fighting a single Saibaman, falling prey to its kamikaze attack. For the rest of the series, Yamcha pretty much has no significant fights, and lags behind the other Earthlings including Tien and Krillin. In Dragon Ball Super, Goku doesn’t even consider Yamcha for the Tournament of Power, even taking Master Roshi over him. Constantly getting sidelined must have taken a toll on the warrior because at some point along the line, Yamcha clearly becomes delusional about his own abilities. In Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultra God Mission chapter 1, Yamcha is introduced as the “Strongest Martial Artist (Self-Proclaimed).” Yamcha calling himself Earth’s greatest martial artist is…interesting to say the least.
While Yamcha may have nowhere near the levels of power that fellow warriors like Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan are able to wield, he certainly does have some level of skill. Even in the Moro arc, Yamcha claims he is one of the strongest Earthlings around. His claim to be Earth’s strongest martial artist in the Super Space-Time Tournament would mean that he considers himself above the aforementioned fighters in terms of pure skill, however. While Dragon Ball has certainly moved far away from the initial, more grounded kind of martial arts, it really is difficult to give Yamcha any sort of leeway in this area given how often he outright fails in his endeavors. Despite this, Yamcha was somehow selected to join the Super Space-Time Tournament, so maybe there is some partial truth to his claim, if he turns out to now be the strongest Earthling.
Yamcha’s position as the “joke” of the Z Fighters has been cemented for several decades of Dragon Ball history now, much to the dismay of his fans. Some critics of Yamcha’s neglect argue that his fall from grace is part of a long process of character assassination due to Akira Toriyama not knowing what to do with him anymore. While it does seem out of character, his current self deluded attitude is poised to just be another embarrassing moment in the long list of Yamcha’s mistakes in the Dragon Ball franchise.
More: Super Saiyan 4 Goku & Vegeta Were No Match For Master Roshi's Old Enemy
