Hercule never won the 24th World Martial Arts Championship because someone else wanted to join to test himself while his father is in space? How does this change Gohan's life when he ends up going to school?
Note: Seeing as the 26th Tournament happened when Gohan was 17 going on 18, I believe it would be the 25th happened when he was 12 going on 13, and the 24th happened when he was 7, going on 8. So this is the time table I am using: Mirai Trucks arrived a couple of months before Gohan turns 8. The tournament happened 3 months before then.
I know it is normally 3 years between tournaments, but I am making it 5 years for more consistency in my idea, as I doubt any of them would care about the tournament just months before the androids are released after all.
Bulma convinces Chichi to let Gohan continue his martial arts training, when the next tournament is announced on TV...
Story start:
~Shortly after the wish on the Dragon Balls~
"ABSOLUTELY NOT! MY BABY BOY IS GOING TO BE A SCHOLAR, NOT SOME JUVENILE THUG LIKE HIS FATHER!" one furious Son Chi-Chi screeches while the rest of the Z fighters and friends look on with pity.
"But mom.. I want dad to be proud of me. Can't I balance out my school work with training?" little Gohan pleads with his mother.
"Absolutely not! Now you're going to go home right now and continue on your calculus work. Do you understand me?!" Chi-chi yells again. Before Gohan can respond Bulma interrupts.
"Calculus?! The kid is doing calculus work? Jeez Chi-chi.. that's college level work.. if he already understands that, then he is ten years ahead of everyone else his age. You should lay off him a little bit. The child is an absolute genius!" Bulma nearly yells in shock. "I myself didn't even start calculus and other Advanced Placement classes until I was twice his age, and I'm considered the smartest human on the planet!"
Chi-chi furiously turns towards Bulma and is about to yell again before getting cut off "Calm down Chi-chi!" Bulma yells. "If you keep pushing him this hard he's going to break and have no emotions! He can't spend his life only learning practical knowledge, he needs to be able to have fun and learn to interact with others and the rest of the world! Hell, if I had never took a break from my studies to travel the world with Goku for the dragon balls, then you and him would have never even met, and you'd have no son!" She screams and sees Chi-chi pale slightly and drives the nail home further.
"Gohan can easily be a scholar and a fighter at the same time, let him train in martial arts like his father, and have him study in his free time. You'll only turn him into a machine if you have him stuck inside reading for his entire life." Bulma gets a sly grin as she is ready to bring the final point home whispers "and if he turns into a machine, he'll never be able to attract a girlfriend, which means no grandchildren for you to spoil rotten in the future." Chi-chi's face turns complete pale and then brightens up entirely.
"Okay Gohan! You can train as long as you promise to keep up your studies. If you ever get below an 85% on a test for your homeschooling, you'll have to give up training though and only focus on your studies until you catch back up properly. Understand?" She tells her son sternly while he nods enthusiastically, thanking her the entire time.
~7 Months Later~
Gohan is watching T.V. shortly before he has to go to bed. He is trying to decide whether he should train or study the next day when a commercial comes on.
"Hello residents of Earth!" the man yells out. "I'm here to announce the 24th World Martial Arts Tournament! It's been eight years since the last tournament where the legendary Son Goku won the title by defeating Ma Junior in an epic battle of the ages and went on to marry his Semi Finals opponent, Chi-chi of the Ox Kingdom!"
Gohan starts getting excited as he listens. "Next week on the 24th of April on Papaya Island! We will crown here the next World Martial Arts Champion! Will Goku be returning to defend his title, or will we be getting an entirely new Champion of the World next week?! Be sure to tune in or show up to find out for yourselves!"
Gohan suddenly jumps up and runs from the room. "Mom! Can I join the World Martial Arts Tournament to defend dad's title for him?!"
~At Hercule's house~
"Oooh Yeah! It's about time the tournament comes back!" A muscular man yells at the top of his lungs right after the commercial. A small girl with black hair in pig tails and bright blue eyes look at her father in excitement.
"Do you think you can win Daddy?!" the young girl squeals happily.
"Hahahaha! Of course, sweat pea! I just hope that the others will give me a good fight!" the loud man yells happily.
"Can I come to watch you fight daddy?" the little girl asks with puppy dog eyes.
"Of course you can, Videl! You can come and watch me become the next World Champion! Ahahahahaha!" he arrogantly says to the growing excitement of the girl.
~A week later, Papaya Island~
A large muscular man walks up to the registration booth holding a little girls hand. "I'd like to sign up for the tournament!". The man sitting at the booth sighs tiredly.
"What's your name sir?" He asks bored, not even looking up from the desk.
"Hercule Satan! The next World Champion!" Hercule boasts proudly.
"Very well, head on in to the backstage and wait for the tournament to start." The man still says boredly. "Your daughter will have to go to the stands though."
"Alright. Here's some money for food and drinks Videl!" Hercule laughs as he hands his daughter some money.
"I'd like to sigh up for the tournament, please." A small voice says walking up to the booth.
"What's your name, sir?" The man asks boredly again, still not looking up.
"Son Gohan, sir. Here to defend my father's title while he is unavailable." the young boy replies. Every head turns to the booth and the man behind the counter finally looks up excited.
There stood a seven year old Gohan, in Goku's colors with the Old Championship belt over his shoulder. His small body showing a lithe frame overflowing with muscles that scream power and speed.
"Son Goku's son, huh?" The man behind the booth says excitedly. "This is going to be a great tournament if you're anything like your father!" he exclaims much to the embarrassment of Gohan.
Nearby the young Videl blushes slightly seeing the young man and her father sees this and gets angry.
"By the way, Videl. You are not aloud to date anyone who is not stronger than me, your father!" The man boasts loudly attracting Gohan's attention due to hurting his ears. He spots Videl and blushes slightly turning away and heading into the tournament hall muttering.
"Gosh.. she sure was cute.. how can she be related to that man? They look nothing alike.."
~A couple hours later: The first round!~
"Welcome to the 24th World Martial Arts Tournament! I'm your announcer and I'm proud to stand here before you to introduce some of the worlds greatest fighters with us here today! Unfortunately, Son Goku was unable to show up today to defend his title!" A large round of boos go around the stadium.
"But!" He yells out silencing them again. "His son, Gohan, has shown up to defend his title for him! Will we be crowning young Son Gohan the next World Champion, or will one of the other great fighters here today be claiming that title?!" the crowd roars loudly in excitement to this.
"Let's introduce our first round match ups, Son Gohan vs. Yamu!"
Gohan shyly walks to the ring seeing all the people there. 'Oh man.. There are so many people here..'
"Don't worry squirt, I'll take it easy on ya. Hahaha." The man next to him taunts snapping Gohan out of his thoughts.
"Uh.. Thanks I guess. You must be a nice man!" Gohan says obliviously.
'Man.. dumb kid, doesn't even realise I'm making fun of him.. Oh well, he's just a kid, what can he possibly do to me?' Yamu thought to himself as they get to the center of the ring and enter their fighting stances.
"Let the first match of the 24th World Martial Arts Tournament...Begin!" The announce screams into the microphone. Instantly Yamu launches himself at Gohan, who blocks or dodges everything thrown at him.
'Huh? Is this the best he can do? I remember dad telling me these matches were tough for him...' Gohan thinks while dodging his opponent without even trying.
Gohan snaps out of his thoughts and decides to fight back, throwing a punch at Yamu's gut, launching him outside of the ring instantly while Gohan looks at his fist in awe.
"And Yamu has been thrown out of the ring! Which means Gohan moves on to the next round!" The announcer yells again. Gohan absentmindedly walks back stage again still staring at his fist.
~Videl~
"Wow! That kid is strong! I wonder if he could beat daddy? Nahhhh, No one can beat daddy!" Videl thinks outloud. 'He is cute though.." she thinks and then blushes.
~Later, Final round~
Hercule Satan and Gohan have been nearly effortlessly throwing their opponents out of the ring the entire tournament. The crowds are going wild for these the finals between Hercule and Gohan. Both fighters stand in the middle of the ring.
"Welcome boys and girls of all ages, to the final round of the World Martial Arts Tournament!" the announcer screams.
"We have with us here today the two greatest fighters in this tournament. On the left, we have the son of the Legendary, SON GOKU!" He screams loudly to the many cheers of the crowd. "18 years ago, the mighty Goku entered this very same tournament and broke countless records being the youngest fighter to ever make it to the final rounds, where he had a repeat performance during the 22nd tournament where he lost to Tien Shinhan in a very close match, only to come back again during the 23rd World Tournament to take the title after defeating Ma Junior in the finals, becoming the youngest Champion to ever win the title!"
"Today, young Son Gohan is here to defend his father's title for him, and he has already cemented his name in history by beating his father's own record of making it to the finals at the young age of 7 years old! Can he completely shatter his father's record of the youngest world champion?! Stick around and find out!" Gohan shyly waves to the crowd chanting his name, and sees Hercule nod at him in grudging respect.
"And on the right, we have a first timer to the World Tournaments! He's been making a name for himself in the world by traveling around and challenging the Masters of different Dojo's and beating every single one of them! He plans to win this tournament and open up a Dojo himself to train the young Martial Artists of tomorrow!"
"Yeaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" Hercule yells and throws up his arms proudly to the many cheers of the fans. Both fighters turn to each other and slide into their stances.
"Let the final match of the 24th World Martial Arts Tournament... Begin!" The announce yells and Hercule charges at Gohan. The crowds go wild in anticipation, and watch as Gohan near effortless blocks every one of Hercule's attacks.
Gohan looks slightly disappointed in the fight and continues to just block and dodge. 'Do none of these fighters know anything about Ki? What happened.. Mom and dad used to tell me all the time how strong many of the fighters were due to their use of Ki..'
Hercule getting frustrated picks up the speed of his attacks, hitting harder and faster each time he swings his leg or arm. As his anger grows, a very small glow surrounds him, forcing his body into an even higher level of speed and strength from before. The crowd noticing this grows more wild than ever.
Gohan smiles when he sees this and decides to fight back and end the match. He catches one of Hercules punches and throws him over his shoulder and out of the ring.
"And young Gohan Son is our new champion!" The announcer roars over the crowd as he walks towards Gohan. "How does it feel to be the new World Champion, taking over your father's title, and breaking every single record he ever set himself?" he asks kindly as the crowd quiets down to listen.
"All I feel is that I hope my dad is proud of me." Gohan answers shyly as he is handed the championship belt.
"What do you plan to do now that you've won the title?" the announcer asks.
"I'm going to go home and have dinner!" Gohan says happily, making the crowds laugh.
"Do you plan on opening a Dojo to train the next generation of martial artists?" He asks again.
"No, I don't think I have what it takes to teach martial arts. I'm still a young boy after all. Maybe some day, but for now I don't know what I plan to do in the future."
"Well you saw it here folks! Young Son Gohan has taken home the title, keeping it within the family for years more to come! We'll see you here again in 5 years for the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament!"
~Backstage~
"Mr. Hercule!" Gohan calls as he sees the man talking sadly to his daughter. Both turn to look at the small boy.
"Hello, Champ. What do ya need with me?" Hercule asks depressed. Videl glaring at the boy for making her daddy sad.
"I was hoping to talk to you before you left. Were you ever trained in using Ki?" He ask shyly blushing slightly at seeing the girl staring at him.
"Ki? What's that?" Hercule asks confused, which confuses the young half-saiyan.
"You've never heard of Ki? Huh... Oh well.. Ki is basically your life energy." He holds out a hand and a ball of light appears amazing the father and daughter. "If you learn to control it, you can do many things with it. Like flying for example." He floats slightly off the ground amazing the two even further.
"I'm not too sure how to train to use it, as the way I was taught would not work for you, but maybe you could seek out Master Roshi, as he's the one that taught my father how to use it."
Hercule looks to be lost in thought. "How do you know I'd even be able to learn this power, young man?" He asks genuinely interested.
"Well, you seemed to have used Ki unconsciously in our match. That's why you were glowing for a few seconds after all. I hope you learn to harness Ki so if we ever have a match again, it will be on equal terms. You are about five times stronger than the rest of the people who signed up here already, you could get hundreds of times stronger by mastering Ki."
Hercule smiles slightly. "Thank you for this advice young man. Right now I would prefer to spend time with my daughter, but I'll be sure to remember to search for Master Roshi at some time to learn from him." He looks shocked for a minute before smiles widely again. "By the way, I never introduced you, this is my daughter Videl. Say hello, Videl!"
"Hi, Mr. Gohan. I'm Videl." She says blushing slightly at the attention. Gohan stick out his hand and blushes as well while shaking her hand.
"Nice to meet you Videl. I've got to head home now though, I'll cya around!" He calls out and then flies away towards home. Hercule turns to his daughter who is blushing and laughs.
"Well.. I did say you could only date someone stronger than me after all.." Hercule says teasingly and laughs harder when he sees her blush even brighter.
"Daddy! It's not like that!" She yells and hits him playfully with her fists, Hercule laughing the entire time.
That's the end of the prologue. Everything else from here to the High School is canon for the Z Fighters. The only difference is that Hercule never took Gohan's credit, as he was never at the Cell Games to begin with. Hercule and his daughter went out and found Master Roshi during the three year time skip and learned from him, where he went on and won the 25th Tournament where none of the Z Fighters participated. The next chapter will be going straight to Gohan's first day of High School.
This will be a fanfiction where Hercule never became fame obsessed due to his loss at the 24th tournament. He's going to be a humble man who teaches the world the basics of Ki if he feels they are worthy.
No one knows who the "Golden Fighter" who won the Cell Games is, but many speculate it was Gohan as the age would match with him already being a celebrity as the World Champion at the time.