Neutral Game
Gato has a strong neutral game thanks to his good set of normals and his character-defining 0f super move. His A/C super, also known as the Zero Kiba, has 0f startup and essentially allows him to confirm off any single hit and punish anything unsafe from close to mid range. He can build meter very quickly, which will give him access to his super, but it can be riskier to do so in neutral as opposed to after a knockdown (this is further discussed in the Meter Management section below). Outside of looking to confirm or punish with his super, Gato generally wants to close the distance and push the opponent to the corner, where his damage potential and offensive pressure become a much greater threat. Most of Gato’s meterless combos that end with one of his special moves have good corner carry which facilitates this gameplan. Gato’s specials aren’t typically used too much on their own in neutral, with the general exceptions of meter building and guard cancels. His stomp (Fuu-ga) and its follow-ups can be fairly risky to randomly throw out in neutral, even his grounded fireball (Kou-ga) is typically reserved in its use.
Two of Gato’s main pokes in neutral are his 2B and hop D. 2B is a low with great range that can check an opponent’s dash/run-in normal. Hop D hits overhead and can be used as a counter-poke to go over the opponent’s grounded pokes with light normals, such as 5A and 2B, and is similarly effective against dashes and runs. Both can be confirmed into his 0f super, however he is unable to convert off max range 2B as his super won’t reach. Gato’s 5A and neutral j.C can also be used as checks against forwards dashes in particular. 5A is his fastest far standing normal, making it effective as a check against dashes in closer range, and can be confirmed into his 0f super (not technically a combo even though it is +1f on hit, but an unblockable that is relatively impractical to escape on reaction). Far 5B has good range and can be used to frame trap the opponent from some of his other normals, such as 2B and cl.D, and feint cancelling it allows Gato to continue his pressure afterwards. Far 5C is somewhat slow, but reaches far and can be used as a counter-poke against whiffed pokes/checks in neutral. Gato can also close space quickly in neutral with his run and opt for cl.D once he is close to the opponent, which can be confirmed into super or more generally to apply pressure. Hop B functions similarly to hop D, with a better downward-extending hitbox but with less horizontal range, making it more suited as a close range combo starter. Gato’s main jump-in normal is his j.B > j.A air target combo, which can be done relatively low to the ground and can beat upper-body invincible moves such as 2ABs. HIs j.C and j.D can also function well as jump-ins. Gato has an air command move with j.CD that allows him to turn around mid-air, allowing any of his jump normals to cross-up.
Gato’s various anti-air options are listed below:
- 2AB: cancelled into 236A/C > 66A/C or 214D~B > 0f super.
- cl.D: if the opponent is directly above. Can go for an unblockable setup with 0f super after. Also suitable as a cross-under.
- 2B: if spaced well from the front or from a cross-under (can combo into 0f super or go for a combo like 2B > 5A xx 623D if close). Targets the landing recovery frames of a whiffed jump normal or empty jump.
- GC 214D~B: can combo into 0f super or 623D.
- GC 236A > 66A: typically used at a range where GC 214D~B would otherwise whiff.
- Backdash > 0f super: uses the invincibility/spacing of the backdash to evade and whiff punish a jump normal on landing or to catch one mid-air.
In addition to these, forward j.B > j.A and neutral/back j.C (and to a lesser extent j.A) make for good air-to-air normals.
Stomp Cancel
Gato has a special meter-building technique called the "stomp cancel" (also known as "wind cancel" from Wind Fang / Fuu-ga). By inputting Kou-ga right as he's about to leave the ground from his Fuu-ga (i.e. 214B~A), he is able to cancel out of Fuu-ga without having Kou-ga come out, and build meter from both cancelled moves. This is the optimal way to build meter with Gato, however the timing is quite strict as it's a one-frame window (a just frame). The correct timing is when both of Gato's arms are fully outstretched. Gato can build nearly one full bar of meter in just 5 stomp cancels. The cancel is typically done from Fuu-ga B (214B) as it has 1f faster startup and is less likely to be punished than Fuu-ga D if you miss your timing on the cancel. The stomp cancel itself is hard to punish on whiff if done successfully, but if you miss the timing, Gato will leap into the air leaving him (very) vulnerable, especially if you don't cancel into any of the other follow-ups. He is at greatest risk against characters like Marco and Kain who can counter hit him with a fireball, then convert into a guaranteed OTG super. A guard cancel into stomp cancel is possible to perform, but requires different timing (more delayed) than a regular stomp cancel, which is especially useful against certain characters' fireballs such as Kain.
Meter Management
Even though Gato has one of the fastest meter build speeds in the game, managing his meter use is still very important and essential to his gameplan. Stomp cancels are used to build meter quickly and optimally, however it may not always be safe to do so, especially against an opponent of high skill level, who will more likely pressure you to prevent you from building meter. Backing up to build meter can put you at a positional disadvantage as you'll slowly end up cornering yourself, which is the opposite of Gato's gameplan of wanting to corner the opponent instead. You can choose to build meter after knockdown situations such as after landing a Fuu-ga D > Sen-ga (214D~B), and opt to go for two stomp cancels (the maximum number of safe stomp cancels) instead of following up with 0f super or Rai-ga D (623D). Another example is after a Shin-ga (236A/C > 66A/C) and going for one stomp cancel (the maximum number of safe stomp cancels). Often times, Gato will have more opportunities to land a confirm into super than he has gauges to do so (2 at most!), so choosing where to spend your meter in combos plays a vital role in both damage and meter efficiency. Meterless corner carry combos should be prioritized midscreen whenever they can, to bring the opponent to the corner where Gato can easily do 50%+ damage combos with only S-Power (1 gauge) and get okizeme afterwards. Combos into Shin-ga (236A/C > 66A/C) and Rai-ga D (623D) are particularly useful for meterless corner carry. Opportunities to land a full combo should not be missed either, most notably using cl.D/cl.C xx 214D~B as a combo starter for punishes, as opposed to simple punishes like cl.D or 2B into 0f super.
Okizeme
Gato's most commonly used okizeme setups are from his D throw and Ryuu-ga (B/D super), which lead into a hard knockdown and allow him to go for his Fuu-ga/stomp mixup. At its core, this is a high/low mixup where you would perform an instant Kyuu-ga (214B~C) as an overhead or a stomp cancel into 2B (214B~A > 2B) as a low. Both options can be confirmed into his 0f super or linked into Rai-ga (623B) break in the corner to start a juggle combo. An additional option is to stomp cancel then go for a throw (D throw) against a blocking opponent, which then starts the mixup all over again. A meaty Kou-ga (214B > A) is an option that can be done from farther away (outside the range of some invincible reversals), which can be linked into 0f super in the corner. cl.D is an option that can be used to potentially beat guard cancels or to catch an opponent trying to jump on wake-up in the corner. Other options can include a stomp cancel into run (to chase down an opponent's backdash midscreen) or block/backdash (to potentially bait out various reversal options from the opponent). To set up the mixup from a D throw, simply run forward after the throw so that you're anywhere near point-blank range to the opponent. To set it up from his Ryuu-ga (B/D super), which is generally only used as a corner combo ender, you can whiff a Shin-ga A (236A) after landing (used as a frame kill and to move Gato forward), then go for the mixup. Landing a D throw in the corner against Marco, Freeman, or Gato (mirror match), will create a gap between the opponent and the wall, so another layer to the mixup would be to run forward then whiff a Fuu-ga B (214B) to leap above them and cross them up from the other side when you land. This puts you in the corner however, so it should be used with caution.
Unblockable Setups
Like other characters with 0f supers, Gato is able to set up unblockables with his Rei-ga/Zero Kiba. The most common way to do this is to perform the super just as the opponent lands on the ground, from the air. The super flash prevents directional inputs from registering, including holding back to block, and since the super has 0f startup, the opponent will get hit if they try to block. The other commonly used method for Gato specifically is inputting his 0f super as soon as possible after his 6A overhead (you would want to confirm into it of course). Below is a list of Gato's most commonly used unblockable setups for his 0f super:
- Air-to-air: any jump normal or Kyuu-ga (214B/D > C) into super on the opponent's landing.
- cl.D: anti-air into super on the opponent's landing.
- 6A: confirm into super (not a true combo/link if it doesn't hit meaty).
The opponent can potentially escape Gato's 0f super unblockable through three main methods. The first two are through a backdash or 2AB, which must be inputted before the super flash. The third is an after-cancel/ave maria with an invincible move. This works by buffering the input for the invincible move and storing it with a simultaneous button press to get a normal (e.g. 623BD would buffer a DP input but give a 2B), then kara cancelling the normal with another button on reaction to the super flash (e.g. 623BD~A would then kara cancel the 2B into a 623A DP). Below is a list of methods to escape Gato's unblockables with listed counters against them:
- Backdash: chase down with a run into cl.C, cl.D, or hop D.
- 2AB: hop/jump B or D, 2B.
- Invincible move: these are done as an after-cancel/ave maria, so you would have to adjust accordingly depending on what normal the opponent kara cancels into the invincible move from (e.g. 2B is a commonly used one, so you could potentially go for a hop or guard cancel against a low). You can also use a fast normal to beat the startup of their normal (e.g. if going for a landing unblockable, you can use a meaty 2B on their landing).
Notable Players to Watch
