Compared to most other battle Shōnen series, the power ceiling in Hunter X Hunter is fairly low. The strongest fighters in the series, the Chimera Ant King, Meruem, and the former Hunter Association Chairman, Isaac Netero, wouldn't even be able to scratch the likes of Naruto Uzumaki or Monkey D. Luffy. However, there are still many characters in Hunter X Hunter capable of defeating Dragon Ball's Goku.
While the characters in Hunter X Hunter may not be the strongest, they excel in other areas. When it comes to battle intelligence, creative powers, and using the two in unison, no Shonen has a more impressive cast. Goku has the power of gods, but he can't beat the greatest Nen masters of Hunter X Hunter.
1 Hisoka's Bungee Gum Can Counter Goku's Attacks
As the series' longest-running villain, Hisoka Morrow is one of the strongest fighters and most intelligent Nen masters in Hunter X Hunter. A sadist who lives to satisfy his appetite for fighting strong opponents, Hisoka would relish the chance to battle a warrior of Goku's caliber. Using his primary hatsu, Bungee Gum, Hisoka can create and manipulate a substance with the properties of both rubber and gum, and with his secondary hatsu, Texture Surprise, he can change something's outward appearance. With these two seemingly unimpressive powers, Hisoka has defeated Kastro and Gotoh, and claimed spots among the residents of the 200th floor of Heaven's Arena, as well as The Phantom Troupe. Hisoka has also assessed the majority of the Zodiacs to be weaker than himself.
The keys to Hisoka's victory over Goku are his showmanship and the nature of Nen. Goku is a much smarter fighter than many fans give him credit for, but he would still be distracted as Hisoka lived up to his title, "The Magician", and put on a show for him to display his powers. Once Goku was led into one of Hisoka's signature traps, the Super Saiyan's lack of Nen would prevent him from resisting against Hisoka's sinister Ren, overwhelming his mind. As seen in Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F', once Goku's defenses are lowered, he's as easy to kill as anyone else.
2 Morel Fights With His Brain, Not His Fists
Morel Mackernasey is a Single-Star Sea Hunter, but while he may be a fisherman by trade, he's more than capable as a combatant. One of the most respected men in the Hunter Association, Morel was a personal friend and associate of Isaac Netero, the leader of the Chimera Ant Extermination Team, and the mentor of Knuckle Bine and Shoot McMahon. Morel possesses the most versatile hatsu in Hunter X Hunter: Deep Purple. Through the use of his gargantuan pipe, and a combination of Manipulation, Transmutation, and Emission, Morel can create smoke that can be shaped into any number of constructs, be used to form an army of mindless soldiers known as Smoke Troopers who he can command with his mind from great distances, and construct perfect replicas of other people, who are even capable of speech. Morel is also armed with Smoky Jail, a hatsu that traps himself and an opponent in a prison of smoke that's impossible to break out of, no matter how strong someone is.
Morel is among the most intelligent characters in Hunter X Hunter, as shown through his victories over the Chimera Ant Officers, Cheetu and Leol. Through trickery and strength of will, Morel defeated these powerful opponents without even landing a punch. Morel has multiple options for defeating Goku. He could trap them both in Smoky Jail and force Goku to surrender to be let out, as Goku wouldn't know whether Morel was bluffing or not about Nen getting stronger after a Nen user dies, or he could fill Smoky Jail with smoke, and take away Goku's ability to breathe. Goku knows how to hold his breath, but his experience in that regard pales in comparison to a veteran Sea Hunter.
3 Illumi Can Take Control of Goku's Body
As the oldest child in his family of legendary assassins, Illumi Zoldyck is the physically strongest among his siblings, and an equal to Hisoka. With his Nen Needles, Illumi is a threat to all those who face him. They can be used for Body Alternation, both to disguise himself, and to disfigure others, inducing great pain. Illumi can also hypnotize others by placing a needle in someone's brain, issuing specific commands, he can animate corpses and use them as his undead army, and he can turn others into Needle People, removing all sentience from them, and forcing them to achieve an assigned goal until they die from exhaustion or are otherwise killed.
One hit is all it would take for Illumi to defeat Goku. Without Nen to protect him, Goku would have no defense against Illumi's needles, and he could be easily disfigured or brainwashed. The difficult part for Illumi would be actually hitting Goku with a Nen Needle, but with an army of mind slaves to keep him distracted, the master assassin would be able to find an opponent.
4 Shalnark's Ability to Control Others is Unsurpassed
Shalnark Ryuseih is a founding member of The Phantom Troupe, and is one of their most critical support members. Shalnark's primary hatsu, Black Voice, enables him to stick antennas in others, and take complete control over them. With his remote control, he can either control everything they can manually, or give them a set list of commands to follow. When he's in a pinch, Shalnark can also activate Autopilot by sticking his antenna in himself, granting him a massive surge in aura. A single needle in Goku, with a command to fly into the sun, is all it would take for Shalnark to clinch victory.
5 Knuckle's Victory Would Take Some Time
Knuckle Bine is a veteran Beast Hunter who has fought in countless battles. He easily won multiple fights against Gon Freecs and, as part of the Chimera Ant Extermination Team, held his own against Menthuthuyoupi, one of the strongest characters in Hunter X Hunter. While Knuckle is a skilled fighter, his tactics against opponents far stronger than him involve hitting and running. With Chapter Seven Bankruptcy, Knuckle can "lend" his opponent some of his aura by hitting them. This makes his opponents slightly stronger, but also causes interest on the power loan to accrew over time. Knuckle can not be damaged until the loan is paid back in full by his opponent's attacks, the more aura his opponents expend, the more their interest goes up, and if his opponent fails to pay back the loan before the interest-owed grows to match their total level of aura, they go bankrupt, and lose access to aura entirely.
It wouldn't be a clean victory, but Knuckle does possess a path to victory against Goku. Assuming Knuckle's hatsu would affect Goku's ki like it would aura in his own world, Knuckle would only need to make contact with the superior fighter in order to initiate Chapter Seven Bankruptcy, and begin draining Goku of his power. If Goku couldn't figure out what was done to him, then it would only be a matter of a time before his god-level attacks caused his interest to skyrocket, and force him into bankruptcy.
6 Mizaistom is a Zodiac for a Reason
A member of The Zodiacs and a Double-Star Crime Hunter, Mizaistom Nana is one of the greatest hunters in the world of Hunter X Hunter. With his hatsu, Cross Game, Mizaistom uses three cards, one blue, one red, and one yellow, to fight his opponents. The Blue Card traps someone in a "courtroom", the Yellow Card allows him to control someone who's been put in the courtroom, and the Red Card is used to release his victims. Once the Yellow Card has been activated, those in the courtroom must heed his warnings, or else be trapped in an unbreakable prison. With Mizaistom not even needing to make contact to put someone in his courtroom, victory against Goku would involve telling him not to fight him, keeping him trapped when he refuses to back down, and ultimately winning when Goku gets bored and forfeits.
7 Tserrendich is an Overpowered Villain
The fourth prince of the Kakin Empire and one of the greatest Nen prodigies of all time, Tserrendich Hui Guo Rou is the main antagonist of the currently ongoing Succession Contest arc, and one of the most powerful Hunter X Hunter villains to date. While the perverse sadist is inexperienced as a fighter, his raw power and near-unstoppable hatsu make him a threat to any opponent. With Parallel Future, Tserrendich can see ten seconds into the future, and once his vision is complete, everyone he was looking at in his vision will perceive events exactly as he foresaw them, while Tserrendich himself can use his knowledge to change this to benefit him. Tserrendich also possesses a Nen Beast that will instantly knock out anyone who lies to its master, and transform them into something less than human if they lie again.
Either of Tserrendich's abilities could be used to defeat Goku. Goku has overcome Hit's Time-Skip, but there's a big difference between a tenth of a second and ten seconds, and Tserrendich could use his hatsu until Goku exhausted himself trying to hit an opponent he couldn't strike. Alternatively, Tserrendich is cunning enough to trick Goku into telling a lie, thus knocking him out, and winning him the fight instantly.
8 Camilla Only Has to Die to Win
The second prince of Kakin Empire, Camilla Hui Guo Rou isn't a fighter at all, but she doesn't need to fight to defeat Goku. Granted to her by her Nen Beast, Camilla possesses the ability known as Cat's Name. Cat's Name only activates after someone else has killed Camilla. After Camilla is killed, her Nen Beast appears to extract the killer's life force and crush them to death. The Nen Beast then uses the extracted life force to revive Camilla. Goku would kill Camilla with a single punch, and he'd die as a result.
9 Shiapouf Cannot Be Killed by Conventional Means
As one of Meruem's Royal Guard's, Shiapouf is among the most deadly characters in Hunter X Hunter. While he's marginally weaker than his companions Neferpitou and Menthuthuyoupi, his abilities are better suited for defeating a titan of power like Goku. With his signature hatsu, Spiritual Message, Shiapouf can learn everything and simultaniously hypnotize his opponent by spreading his scales through the air. While it is possible to resist Shiapouf's hypnosis, it seems doubtful Goku would be able to without Nen.
Even if Goku were able to resist the attack, he has no way of killing Shiapouf. With Beelzebub, Shiapouf can break himself up into thousands of smaller clones, and he can regenerate from any wound. Sooner or later, Goku would fall prey to Spiritual Message, and be put to rest.
10 Alluka Zoldyck is the Most Powerful Hunter X Hunter Character
The only girl among the Zoldyck family's children, Alluka Zoldyck has not been trained as an assassin like her brothers. Instead, her parents have kept her locked in her room for the bulk of her life, due to her sharing a body with Nanika, an entity originally from The Dark Continent. Alluka is good friends with Nanika, and, with her power, Alluka has the power to grant any wish, provided certain conditions are met. Along with being one of the best trans characters in anime, this ability makes Alluka the most powerful character in Hunter X Hunter.
If Goku were to challenge Alluka and learn the nature of her ability, there's no question that his wish would be to fight the strongest opponent in the multiverse. This opponent could defeat Goku and end the fight there, or Goku could prove himself the strongest there is. Ultimately, it wouldn't matter. He would ask to fight someone stronger, thus initiating the conditions of Alluka's ability. The greater the previous wish, the more painful a request Nanika makes in order to fulfill her next wish. With Goku unaware of the consequences of refusing a request like removing his hand and giving it to her, anime's greatest hero would explode into bloody chunks.
