Vegeta has put a lot of effort into pursuing the goal of surpassing his arch-rival Goku, but the Saiyan prince’s own advantages keep him from achieving this desire.

Ever since Goku surpassed Vegeta at the end of Dragon Ball Z, opening the Saiyan Saga arc, the Saiyan prince has been obsessed with finding a way to overcome his opponent. Although the two developed a friendship, there was still a bit of fierce competition between them. Vegeta worked very hard to pursue his goal of becoming the strongest warrior in the universe for a long time.

As Vegeta and Goku’s adventures continue in the Dragon Ball Super series, it becomes clear that Vegeta has not and may never surpass his opponents. Many readers think that this is inevitable because Vegeta is not the main character, but let’s try to explain this according to the details in the story to understand why Vegeta always loses to Goku.

Throughout Dragon Ball Super, Goku and Vegeta are both trained by angels serving the god of destruction Beerus of universe 7. As a result, they were both imbued with divine energy, which combined with their natural Super Saiyan abilities, caused them both to achieve new forms of Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue. While Goku achieved composure in combat that developed into mastery of his Ultra Instinct transformation, Vegeta achieved his transformation through his bond with the god of destruction. Thanks to that, Vegeta achieved a powerful Ultral Ego transformation, rivaling Goku in strength when the two Saiyans confronted the villain Granolah to decide the fate of the universe.

For Vegeta, the Ultra Ego allows him to harness the power he has craved all his life, while also being empowered through his love of combat and rage – it is potentially dangerous for those people around while Vegeta maintains this state. However, he realized that it was impossible to maintain his transformation continuously. The responsibilities and dedication that come with harnessing the power of the god of destruction will force him to reorient his life, abandoning his family and the life he built as a Z Fighter throughout Dragon Ball Z. This is the difference that prevents Vegeta from growing but is also his strength compared to Goku.

While Goku certainly loves his family and has been by their side since his rebirth near the end of DBZ, he still loves the thrill of fighting and improving his martial arts skills more. Goku is famous for often leaving his family for long periods of time to focus on training, and even endangers the entire universe when regularly confronting the strongest opponents.

A typical example is in Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power, Goku proposed a martial arts competition between different universes, leading to the risk of Universe 7 almost being completely wiped out. By the end of Dragon Ball Z, Goku left his family behind to train Uub with the aim of creating a worthy opponent.

Goku’s heart is filled with righteousness. Although he is lacking as a father and husband, Goku loves his family very much. However, Goku loves his family differently from the way Vegeta loves his family and chooses a stable life with his wife and children. Even when Vegeta felt that his family hindered him from developing his power, he was still willing to take care of his wife and children, not wanting to leave them behind to achieve the power he had long wished for. This may cause Vegeta to lose his chance to surpass Goku, but it also shows a change in the Saiyan prince’s personality and thinking.