Dolphin Rider Zombie

Dolphin Rider Zombies are essentially aquatic variants of Pole Vaulting Zombies, with the exceptions being that they move faster and ignore any plant in the rightmost space, including Tall-nuts. It is the 15th zombie encountered in Adventure Mode, and is the last zombie introduced in the pool levels.

Suburban Almanac Entry
 Dolphin Rider Zombie 

Dolphin Rider Zombies use dolphins to exploit weaknesses in your pool defense.

Toughness: medium

Speed: fast, then slow (after jump)

Special: jumps over the first plant he runs into

Only appears in the pool

The dolphin is also a zombie.

Overview
The Dolphin Rider Zombie absorbs 17 normal damage shots and its appearance changes upon an absorption of 9 normal damage shots before dying at 17 normal damage shots. The Dolphin Zombie does not degrade if he keeps mount until dying and it loses its dolphin after it jumps.

Appearances

 * Adventure Mode: 3-8, 3-9, 3-10, 4-4
 * Mini-games: Invisi-ghoul, Zombie Nimble Zombie Quick, Last Stand, Buttered Popcorn, Dark Stormy Night
 * Puzzle Mode: Last Stand: Pool, Last Stand: Endless
 * Survival Mode: All pool and fog Survival Mode levels (except Survival: Pool).
 * Co-op Mode: Co-op Pool, Co-op Hard Pool, Co-op Endless

Strategies
Before this zombie appears on the screen, a dolphin-like sound can be heard. This will help alert the player to set up defenses if they haven't already. The best strategy for dealing with this zombie is to use Tall-nuts to block them, just as one might do for a Pole Vaulting Zombie. If the player doesn't have a Tall-nut available, plant a Lily Pad in front of them to make them lose their Dolphin, slowing them down. If they can use it, however, the Tangle Kelp is an easy way to kill them without spending a lot of sun. A Squash on a Lily Pad also works, though by the time the Squash jumps the dolphin would already have jumped over it and the zombie would have started eating the plant behind the Squash.

Note: If the player has already planted a Lily Pad or other aquatic plant in the rightmost square, the Dolphin Rider Zombie will not jump over it, as the dolphin enters the pool partway into the second column. The player should plant one in the second or third column instead.

Trivia

 * The Dolphin Rider Zombie is the only zombie in the first game with an animal as part of the Zombie.
 * The Dolphin Rider Zombie will carry its Dolphin into the Player's House with it if it doesn't encounter any plants during its trek.
 * It is the only Vaulting Zombie that goes in the Pool.
 * The Dolphin Rider Zombie's sprite is only a fraction of the size of those of other zombies. It is too small to be completely ensnared by a Tangle Kelp.
 * The Dolphin Rider Zombie will ignore plants that have been planted in the rightmost column.
 * The Dolphin Rider Zombie does not degrade while on a Dolphin (in the pool), like a Bungee Zombie or Snorkel Zombie underwater.
 * The Dolphin Rider Zombie has the shortest almanac entry of all plants and zombies in Plants vs. Zombies, the second shortest is that of the Ladder Zombie.
 * The Dolphin Rider Zombie is invincible to all attacks (excluding instant kills besides Pool Cleaners) when jumping into the water.
 * In the video "Zombies on your Lawn", the Dolphin Rider Zombie's dolphin says, "We are SO the undead!" instead of "We are the undead!" like all the other zombies.
 * The Dolphin Rider Zombie, Bungee Zombie, Zomboni, Balloon Zombie, Jack-in-the-Box Zombie, Digger Zombie and Pogo Zombie are the only Zombies that make noises before entering.
 * Apart from when it is on land, it is a lot faster than the Pole Vaulting Zombie.
 * There is a glitch in iOS Versions of the game that when it is about to come out of the pool, it doesn't and instead goes though the ground and its swims in place and never goes in and forces you to turn off the game and turn it on again.