Samurai Shodown VI/Cham Cham

Introduction

Cham Cham is a cat who pounces a lot.

Data

• Dash type: Run
• Damage taken: 110%
• Rage retention: 225 (5th Highest)
• Rage duration: 6 seconds (Shortest in the game)

Gameplan

Cham Cham's ideal range up close is at around the reach of her pounce (623S), specifically the light version. At this range she can also space her slide (3D) to be safe, fish for recoil cancels into pounce with 5C or run in safely. Her 66A can be special cancelled into pounce or used for tick throws, while she can also mixup between throw, her crossup (66C) or her low (66D). With pounce, Cham Cham has access to both an anti-air and command grab in one timely button press (623S~S) and a slide (623S~D) which reaches far enough to catch some backdashes and which can also be spaced to be made safe. Both the command grab and the slide are highly rewarding damage-wise. If Cham Cham is cornered she can use the heavier versions of her pounce on their own to escape the corner, a tactic which is particularly effective if you cancel into them from a poke.

Cham Cham is also effective at fullscreen, as her straight boomerang (236S) is able to eat fireballs and she can run behind it. She can also call Pak Pak to throw a skull (421B) which safely covers the ground for her. If the opponent approaches from Cham Cham in the air she can air-to-air with jB or jC or attempt to anti-air with an upper boomerang (214S) or Pak Pak's fire breath (421C). The latter is particularly effective, as not only does the fire breath lock the opponent in place but within the range that it hits Cham Cham can light pounce and get a free command grab. This is best set up after a successful boomerang toss in the corner where the opponent will have less of an opportunity to poke her out of fire breath's recovery - if they do this they'll get hit by the fire breath anyway, but as Cham Cham doesn't have a great defense value you won't want to be taking too many hits.

Cham Cham's Rage duration is the shortest in the game, which is an issue because her WFT is otherwise pretty useful. VI Spirit giving her unlimited Rage time solves this issue. IV Spirit is useful because it gives her proper close medium combos, and because her Rage retention is so high she can nearly max it out just by landing Continuous Slash IV. If she has conditioned her opponent to throw tech after using jD or other tick throw setups she can then mix in a Continuous Slash to beat throws for a rewarding punish. II Spirit is another option because destroying the opponent's weapon makes Cham Cham's 421C setups and pouncing in general much harder to stop.

Normal Moves

Far Slashes

• 5A - A quick scratch. Hits on crouching opponents.
• 5B - A short forward swipe with the boomerang.
• 5C - A two-hit boomerang toss. Deals less damage than 2C most of the time due to how the Weapon Gauge works but it's better for punishes because Cham Cham stays in place. Recoils on block. This does not eat fireballs.
• 2A - 5A but lower.
• 2B - 5B but lower.
• 2C - Another boomerang toss with similar range to 5C, but it's cut back a bit because Cham Cham actually slides back a step even on whiff. This move is weird in that it will only hit once, but if performed close it will deal less damage but hit low, whereas it hits mid from a greater distance. Recoils on block. This does not eat fireballs.

Near Slashes

• n5A - Three elbow nudges.
• n5B - A standard combo starter. But nothing Cham Cham can do will combo except for supers.
• n5C - An upward boomerang hook. Cham Cham's highest-damaging normal but n2C combos beat it damage-wise.
• n2A - Three scratches to the shins. Hits low.
• n2B - n5B but lower.
• n2C - n5C but lower and it deals less damage, but it's special cancellable and gives Cham Cham enough time to convert into a pounce grab.

Kicks

• 5D - A forward kick. Slow for its range and is not cancellable.
• 6D - Yuri's buttslam. Hits mid despite appearances.
• 2D - Short kick. Hits mid despite appearances. Still useful for tick throws given its speed.
• 3D - Cham Cham's infamous low-hitting slide. Punishable by throw if done up close but this is normally not an issue if spaced correctly. Active for a while.

Dash Normals

• 66A - A short headbutt. It hits mid but it can be cancelled into specials, giving you a good opportunity to set up 623A.
• 66B - Another headbutt, but Cham Cham trips over. This does just a bit more damage than 66A and still hits mid, but it knocks down.
• 66C - Hanzo's overhead, but only the part where it crosses up. The fact this doesn't hit in front of Cham Cham means you'll have to do it point blank. Punishable after she lands, but it works in the corner.
• 66D - Running 3D. Long active frames on this move. Couples well with run-up throw and 66C.

Air Normals

• jA - Aerial 5A. Quick and has better reach than jD.
• jB - Aerial 5B. Stubby but usable air-to-air as it reaches just a bit further than jC.
• jC - Aerial n5C. This can be used like an Ainu jC as an all-purpose air-to-air/jump-in/etc. as it has great vertical range, decent horizontal range and good speed going for it.
• jD - Butt attack. Useful for tick throws and can combo into 3D.

Unarmed Normals

• u5S - Same as n5A.
• u2S - Same as 2B.
• u66S - Running scratch. Knocks down.
• juS - Same as jA.

Hyper Slash (I)

• A+B - Essentially her 5C but it only does one hit.

Command Moves

Triangle Jump - j9 near wall

• Has its uses for escaping the corner and for taking up more space with a falling jC.

Triangle Get Off - j3 near wall

• Gives you a short hop to harass with air-to-airs better when cornered.

Special Moves

Note: ★ = Pak Pak special. Upon performing one of these moves or their followups it will take a moment for Pak Pak to travel back to his original position behind Cham Cham. During this period Pak Pak specials can not be performed.

Sideway Thrown Out! - 236S

• Cham Cham tosses her boomerang forward. Strength determines the startup and how far it travels. In addition to travelling fullscreen 236C will also make Cham Cham trip in place. Either version has a particularly slow startup, but her boomerang will eat up other fireballs while it's out. During this time, Cham Cham will behave unarmed until the boomerang returns to her.

Upper Thrown Out! - 214S

• Diagonal variant of 236S suitable for anti-airing with the exact same properties and damage per strength. Strength determines the startup and how far it travels. In addition to travelling the greatest distance 214C will also make Cham Cham trip backwards a bit. As an anti-air it must be done pre-emptively given the slow startup. 214A is your best bet because neither version alters the angle she tosses it and that strength has the fastest startup.

Caught! - 623S, can be done unarmed (Samurai Drive)

• Cham Cham's pounce has been modified to be a Hooligan Combination of sorts. Strength determines how far and high she jumps. 623A leaps a short distance, but 623B leaps well over halfscreen and 623C travels the whole stage. The jump itself doesn't have any landing recovery so it can actually be used as a tricky movement option, particularly from a recoil cancel.
• Scratches Face! - S during 623S, can be done unarmed
  • On a grounded opponent this is a command grab which must be activated on the frame it will hit the opponent, meaning Cham Cham must not stick this out pre-emptively or else she can be punished easily. The hitbox for this is very small, making this particularly risky. However, on hit it will send the opponent flying fullscreen for the same amount of damage as n5C and a hard knockdown. Cham Cham takes her time to meow after this, meaning you can't capitalise on it well unless you've got the opponent cornered, where you can then meaty with 5C or run in for a mixup.
  • On an airborne opponent Cham Cham will simply bounce off from them as they receive a soft knockdown and a bit less than jB's damage. Like on the ground, Cham Cham must also time this well.
• Scratches Back! - D during 623S, can be done unarmed (Samurai Drive)
  • As if this move wasn't similar enough to Hooligan Combination, this is a low-hitting slide which starts quickly if you had pressed D at any point in the jump. This is a hitgrab which deals a bit more damage than 623S~S and it will face whichever side the opponent's on upon activation. This move travels about half the screen and can be made safe with the proper spacing. If the pounce is spaced correctly then this can be a fairly ambiguous crossup, but of course this is when the slide is least safe.
  • Say, doesn't Cammy like cats?

★Paku Paku-Dios - 421A, can be done unarmed

• Pak Pak spins forward a short distance from Cham Cham. This hits low but Cham Cham doesn't have any grounded overheads to take advantage of this. What she can do instead is juggle from a successful hit.

★Mula-Paku Paku - 421B, can be done unarmed

• Pak Pak tosses a skull in a straight line, skimming the ground pretty quickly. At fullscreen Cham Cham can pursue behind this safely. In the corner this gives her a decent amount of frame advantage on block, and if spaced correctly she can link from this into a far heavy slash on hit.

★Paku Paku-Gabool - 421C, can be done unarmed

• Pak Pak breathes fire. This not only deals up to five hits of chip where Cham Cham is completely safe afterwards but it can also lock the opponent in place for a free 623S~S, which works because the range at which this fire breath begins to rise is about the range which allows 623A to connect. Very strong setplay tool but can also anti-air, considering the fire breath travels upward the whole distance.

★Toy Transformation - 321421E (II)

• Cham Cham can perform this move while Pak Pak is returning to her, but because Pak Pak is cuddled around her for the taunt he will spawn from this position and then walk back behind Cham Cham. No Pak Pak specials can be performed during this period.

Supers

No More Forgiveness! - 236AB

• Cham Cham dons Tam Tam's mask, matures in the blink of an eye then charges forward for ten hits with her boomerang before reverting back. Pretty good damage on the ground and often times it's your best ender from close mediums. The catch is that, while the boomerang reaches from the ground to the sky, hitting this on an airborne opponent won't secure all the hits, meaning that juggles will only connect two or three hits of this thing. You still get the disarm and hard knockdown at the end, but because the damage is spread evenly across each hit this makes the damage potential in anti-airs and juggles really bad.

It Hurts When It Hits! - 641236BC (II), 236BC (VI)

• Enhanced 214S, swinging upward in a curved arc rather than going straight diagonally. This deals multiple hits and causes a soft knockdown. Furthermore the hibox starts quickly in front of Cham Cham, making this ideal for combos.

Combos

Standard Combos

• n5B/n2B 236AB - Close medium combos. Yeah.
• n2C 623A~S/236AB - n2C gives you a meterless combo ender in 623A~S, but you better be sure to time the hit or you'll be in for a world of hurt.
• jC, n5C - This is your best jump-in combo when you don't have a super, as n2C is your only special cancellable normal which will combo into a special but the two-heavy rule makes such combos impossible from jC.
• jD, 3D - Quick, annoying jump-in combo.
• 421A, n5C/2C/214A/236AB - Some practical juggles from 421A. That being said, they're still pretty tough. 236AB disarm but not all the hits will connect, making the damage output pretty bad.

Secret Move (II/VI)

• n5B/n2B SM - Worth mentioning just because in II Spirit this is your only close medium combo you can do without meter.

Continuous Slash (IV)

• A+B BBC 214B/623A~S/236AB - Either boomerang toss will give you the same damage per strength, but only 236A will work in this juggle so use 214B instead. These deal more damage than 623A~S and they give you better advantage because they cause a knockdown. 236AB here has the same problem as in the 421A juggle and will actually deal less damage than either of these enders.
• A+B AABBCCC - Worth noting for two reasons: it nearly fills your entire Rage gauge and the very last hit is cancellable. You can't use it for Pak Pak specials because he will be too far from his spot, and overall it's pretty useless. This deals just a bit more damage than the meterless combos above.

Frame Data - Provided by Tekitogate

Attack	Startup	On Hit	On Standing Block	On Crouching Block	Notes
n5A	4	+3	-1	+4
n2A	5	-1	N/A	0
5A	10	+1	-3	+2
2A	7	-2	-6	-1
66A	7	-3	-15	-10
jA	10	N/A	N/A	N/A
n5B	11	-2	-8	-3
n2B	10	+1	-8	-3
5B	10	-7	-8	-3
2B	10	-1	-8	-3
66B	9	KD	-16	-11
jB	15	N/A	N/A	N/A
n5C	14	0~+1	-20	-15
n2C	13	0~+1	-20	-15
5C	19	+1~+2	-20	-15
2C	16	-3~-2	-20	-15
66C	27	KD	-24	N/A
jC	13	N/A	N/A	N/A
5D	8	-5	-9	-4
6D	15	-10	-12	-7	0 on crouching opponents
2D	8	-1	-5	0
3D	5	KD	N/A	-17	Active for 16 frames
66D	5	KD	N/A	-10	Active for 14 frames
jD	11	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hyper Slash	34	KD	-52	-42
Continuous Slash	8	N/A	-20	-15

Colors

External Links

• Seesaa wiki