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Vegeta was first introduced early on in the Dragon Ball Z anime. Once he was defeated by Goku and the rest of the Z-Fighters, he joined them and became a close friend. He has stood by Goku's side since the beginning. In order to remain equal, Vegeta always made a significant effort to train with Goku whenever possible. Despite the two being very similar at times, it seems they are now going down opposite paths in their training with Vegeta unlocking the opposite of Ultra Instinct, Ultra Ego.
There are many powerful characters in the series who can act as Goku's rivals and teammates whenever Vegeta is not around. While many are unable to match Vegeta in terms of strength and fighting ability, they make up for it in other ways.
Note: This article is not meant to hate on Vegeta but instead explore the possibility of what it would be like if Goku's partner was anyone other than Vegeta.
10 characters in Dragon Ball who could substitute for Vegeta as Goku's main ally
1) Krillin
Since the very beginning, Krillin has been Goku's best friend, and he is the strongest human in the Dragon Ball series. He may not be able to match Vegeta when it comes to power, but he will be able to execute team attacks with Goku much better than Vegeta.
2) Piccolo
Piccolo was once one of Goku's strongest enemies and is now one of his closest allies. Goku even trusted Piccolo enough to let him train Gohan when he was a young child.
If Piccolo and Goku became a duo, Piccolo would definitely be the brains of the group. He may not be as smart as Goku, but he is able to formulate incredibly well thought out plans on the spot. This has helped the Dragon Team win many of their fights.
3) Gohan
Gohan and Goku used to train together in Dragon Ball Z. They spent one year, approximately one day in Earth time, sparring and getting stronger in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. The two were able to work well together and gained a significant boost in strength after their time was up. Gohan was also slated to become the strongest Z-Fighter in the series. His Mystic Form made him incredibly powerful and allowed him to easily pummel Cell as a teenager.
4) Goten
Goten is Goku's second son and is incredibly talented. He and Trunks are amongst those who unlocked the Super Saiyan transformation at the youngest age. They have also displayed overwhelming strength both separately and in their fusion form, Gotenks.
Since Goten is still very young, Goku can mold him into the perfect teammate and unlock his hidden potential. This could easily make Goten one of the strongest mortals in the entire series.
5) Future Trunks
Unlike his younger counterpart, Future Trunks has already matured and was trained by Gohan. He is also a master swordsman, capable of slicing Frieza in half with one strike.
Future Trunks would be able to follow orders incredibly well since he both looks up to and respects Goku. He could also create his own strategy if the situation ever called for it.
6) Uub
Uub is the reincarnation of Majin Buu and despite his size and age, he is one of the strongest humans in the show. Unlike many other Dragon Ball characters, Uub became Goku's martial arts student, so Goku was able to pass down many of his fighting techniques to Uub. This could also allow Uub to be an incredible partner to Goku and allow the two to become even stronger.
7) Merus
Merus is an elite member of the Galactic Patrol force and was once an Angel in training. Due to him assisting Goku in his fight with Moro, Merus lost his status as an Angel trainee and became a mortal.
Despite this, Merus should still retain his martial arts knowledge and skills. This will allow him to fight against various enemies with Goku and even keep up with the saiyan. He would also be able to quickly call in back up from the Galactic Patrol if he believes any enemies they face are too powerful.
8) Hit
Hit is known as the 'Legendary Assassin' and hails from Universe 6. His first appearance in the Dragon Ball Super anime was when he Goku hired him to assassinate himself. Goku did this in order to train with other strong fighters. Throughout their fights, Hit was able to take down Goku easily many times. He was even able to keep up with Super Saiyan Blue Goku in combat. This is thanks to his Time-Skip ability.
Time-Skip allows Hit to manipulate time and skip forward one-tenth of a second. He uses this opportunity to strike his opponents or dodge their attacks. This ability would prove to be incredibly useful if he decided to join a tag team fight with Goku. The number of two-man techniques they can create is endless.
9) Granolah
As of now, Granolah has only been shown in the manga, but he is incredibly powerful. When he first fought Goku and Vegeta, Granolah was the strongest mortal in Universe 7 as a result of his wish being granted by Toronbo.
During the Granolah the Savior Saga, he was one of the main antagonists and gave Vegeta and Goku a run for their money. Since then, his beliefs have changed and he is now allies with the Dragon Team. Granolah, like Uub, has an ability known as Pure Progress, and because of this ability, he gets much stronger in a short amount of time. If Granolah trained with Whis like Goku does, he would easily be able to fight on the same level as Goku and be able to substitute Vegeta whenever needed.
10) Android 17
Android 17 was instrumental in Universe 7's victory during the Tournament of Power. He is another character who was once an immensely powerful enemy Goku had to struggle to take down and once defeated, he became Goku's ally.
Although he now works as a park ranger, he has maintained his Martial Arts ability and could easily fight on the same level as Goku with a little more training.
Final thoughts
Many characters in Dragon Ball are capable of taking Vegeta's spot as Goku's rival for a short time. However, Vegeta still remains the best option for Goku since they are both Saiyans and can easily keep up with one another as they get stronger.
Although possible, it is highly unlikely a new character will ever been introduced that could match Goku as well as Vegeta.
