Jester Zombie

The Jester Zombie is a zombie that appears in Dark Ages. It can deflect projectiles, like peas, Lobbed-shots, cannons, and others. To defeat it, the player must use Fume-shrooms or other Area of Effect plants, or by using instants.

Overview
The Jester Zombie absorbs 21 normal damage shots and its appearance changes upon at 10 normal damage shots before dying at 21 normal damage shots.

Almanac Entry
TOUGHNESS:  Protected

SPEED:  Hungry

Returns projectiles that are shot at him.

Oh sure, everyone loves to laugh at Jester Zombie's clownish routines. But what no one knows is that he has a Master of Fine Arts from the Chewliard Performing Arts School. Heck, he's been on stage with some of the finest classical theatre companies this side of the lawn. But sometimes you just gotta go where the paycheck is.

Appearances
Player's House: Piñata Party

Dark Ages: Night 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and Arthur's Challenge.

Strategies
The Jester Zombie will spin around and will send most projectiles back to the plants. Its main weakness is the Fume-shroom, but it can be damaged via Area of Effect attacks like Lightning Reed and Laser Bean. Lightning Reeds, Snapdragons, and Laser Beans work because they don't have projectiles to throw at Jester Zombie, therefore, it will take damage from them. Two Spikerocks adjacent to your plants will also sterilize the Jester Zombie. Bonk Choys can be used, but keep a Tall-nut adjacent to it or you will risk 150 sun because of its minimum range. If you have the sun, a great way to stop Jester Zombies is to combine Fume-shrooms, Lightning Reeds, and Snapdragons. If you are having trouble with the Jester Zombie because of the lack of Area of Effect attacks, you can use instant kills. Beware, however, when the Jester is spinning, it is immune to both Chili Beans and Hypno-shrooms.

Do not use Plant Food on the projectile-based plants when the Jester Zombie is in front. It will only compound your problems, as the Jester will deflect them all. Exceptions are Cabbage-pult's big cabbages, Melon-pult and Winter Melon's big melons, Split Pea because Jester Zombies can't deflect peas backwards, Pea Pod's giant pea, Citron's big plasma ball and Coconut Cannon's big bomb.

Trivia

 * The Jester Zombie is the second zombie to throw back plants projectiles in Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time, with the first being the Hammer Zombie from Kung-Fu World.
 * It could be compared to its Chinese counterpart as the Jester is stronger as it can grab lobbed-shots.
 * It gains a speed boost while spinning.
 * Jester Zombie does not deflect peas behind it from the Split Pea.
 * If you freeze a Jester Zombie with an Iceberg Lettuce or Chili Bean's gas while it is spinning, the Jester Zombie will be unable to deflect projectiles and will be damaged normally by them.
 * If the Jester Zombie deflects a boomerang shot from a Bloomerang, it will not return to the Jester Zombie. It will attack whole row of plants but the Bloomerang can take it and will not take damage.
 * If the plants are attacked by Snow Pea or Winter Melon, they will not be chilled (slowed down).
 * However, it can be chilled and damaged by the splash of a Winter Melon.
 * Also, they can be chilled by Snow Pea's Plant food ability.
 * Jester Zombie cannot deflect giant peas shoot by Repeater, Split Pea and Pea Pod's Plant Food ability.
 * Thus, it can deflect neither fire giant peas nor napalm giant peas.
 * In the Almanac the Jester Zombie has a bone sticking out its below.
 * If Jester Zombie is damaged enough, you can see the bone when spinning.
 * When spinning, it is slightly translucent.
 * There is an achievement called "All in Jest" where the player must complete a level without letting a Jester Zombie deflect even a single projectile.
 * Unarmed Potato Mines are unaffected by projectiles deflected from Jester Zombies, but armed Potato Mines get hit.
 * It is odd how Jester Zombies can return Citron's plasma projectiles even though Lightning Reed's lightning bolts are also plasma and Magnifying Grass's projectiles are made from light.
 * Probably since Citron's plasma is a ball and travels in a straight line like a pea. Lightning Reed's bolts immediately hit the zombie (and if the Jester could deflect it, where would it go?), and Magnifying Grass's rainbow is focused rather than pure plasma.
 * If the Jester Zombie returns one of Citron's projectiles against an Infi-nut, it will go to the next degrade stage although it takes more projectiles to make Wall-nut and Tall-nut to go to the next degrade stage.
 * This might be to prove that the Infi-nut is weaker.
 * While spinning, Jesters can eat a Hypno-shroom without being affected by it. However, it can be hypnotized when it is not spinning.
 * This is also true to Chili Bean and Sun Bean.
 * The Jester Zombie will only spin if there is a projectile approaching it.
 * But while the Jester is spinning, it will automatically take any projectiles that are fired at it.
 * In the almanac, it appears to do the backstroke, a swimming move.
 * This makes it's the only zombie that having unusual stand animation.
 * And when it moves, it just jumps.
 * Also when it is not spinning it eyes appear to be spinning round in circles.
 * A bell's sound will be played when just one Jester Zombie enters the lawn.
 * All projectiles deflected from Jester Zombie can damage zombies.
 * If it deflects a projectile to a hypnotized Jester Zombie, the projectiles will keep going back and forth.