We first meet this young Namek on his home planet, when Frieza's servants killed his younger brother and other Nameks in the village as they collected the Dragon Balls. He survived this encounter thanks to Gohan and Krillin, who immediately befriended the shy boy.

While at first Dende was too weak to be of much assistance, he later introduces the humans to Guru, the eldest Namek who had the ability to unlock the potential power within. It was Guru's gift to Gohan and Krillin that gave them the power-up needed to stand against Frieza and his elite warriors. And it was Guru's gift to Dende to unlock his innate healing powers, which aided all the Z-Senshi during the intense battle.

Dende and Gohan became immediate friends, and after Namek was destroyed, he spent time with Gohan and the other Z-Senshi at Capsule Corporation until Porunga was called upon to send the Nameks to a new planet. After bidding a bittersweet farewell to Gohan, Dende vanished from Earth's plane... but not for too long.

A few years later, after Kami and Piccolo rejoined, Goku decided Earth needed a new Kami, to recreate the Dragon Balls so that all the bitter consequences of Cell's creation could be wished away. That meant, of course, that this new Kami had to be a Namek as well, as creating Dragon Balls was a uniquely Namekkian talent. So Goku teleported to New Namek, and sought a Namek who had the ability to create Dragon Balls, as well as the desire to permanently relocate to Earth and serve as its deity. Dende volunteered, anxious to see Gohan again.

And so, the young, shy Namek boy rose to the position of Kami, recreating the Dragon Balls of Earth and even giving them a power boost, enabling Shenlon to grant two wishes in one summoning. And while serving as guardian over an entire planet was a daunting task, he had the friendship of Gohan, the support of Mr. Popo (servant to all the Kamis), and the wisdom of the rejoined Piccolo, who remained in the Sky Palace to keep an eye on things.