A.K.E.E.

A.K.E.E. (acronym for Autonomous Katapulting Ejectomatic Emitter) is the second plant obtained in Lost City in Plants vs. Zombies 2. A.K.E.E. was revealed in the developer diary for Lost City Part 1 which was released on May 27, 2015. It is the seventh lobbed-shot plant in Plants vs. Zombies 2.

A.K.E.E. fires seeds that bounce from one zombie to another in its lane. Each seed deals three normal damage shots for the first two bounces, and then two normal damage shots starting from the third. However, if a seed hits one zombie and the next one is more than five tiles away, the seed will not continue to bounce off. This travel distance gets smaller with each bounce, as the seed loses its momentum over time. A.K.E.E.'s seeds also can also bounce from one tombstone to another tombstone and any other obstacles on the lawn.

Origins
A.K.E.E. is based on the tropical fruit Blighia sapida, known as the akee or ackee in English. Judging by the developer diary, it is intended to be pronounced as an acronym instead of an initialism. As the Almanac states, its name is an acronym of "Autonomous Katapulting Ejectomatic Emitter," which purposely has incorrect spelling and non-existing words to create a humorous effect.

Almanac entry
Sun cost: 175

DAMAGE: Normal RANGE: Lobbed RECHARGE: Fast

A.K.E.E.s lob projectiles that bounce from zombie to zombie.

Autonomous Katapulting Ejectomatic Emitter is actively looking for a different acronym for A.K.E.E., because let's face it, "Katapulting" is just not working.

Plant Food effect
When given Plant Food, A.K.E.E. fires large akee seeds at the first zombie in every lane—a total of five if all lanes have zombies in them. Each seed deals 22.5 normal damage shots to hit enemies and decreases its damage by 15% per each bounce until it dissapears after eight bounces.

Costumed
A.K.E.E. now fires a charged large ackee seed, it switch between normal, explosive (reddish color and with higher splash damage) and freezing (bluish color, less splash damage and freeze zombies if it is not killed).

Strategies
A.K.E.E. has a role comparable to Laser Bean. When set side-by-side, A.K.E.E. deals more damage on the first two targets and is slightly cheaper, meaning that it is slightly better early on. However, its limited bouncing capability puts it in a worse position compared to Laser Bean in Endless Zones, where very large amounts of zombies will spawn and reliable penetration is required. A.K.E.E.'s projectile can get blocked by Parasol Zombie and reflected by Jester Zombie.

A.K.E.E. is a good counter against zombies that can shield themselves against straight-shooting projectiles such as Barrel Roller Zombie, Shield Zombie, Excavator Zombie, Troglobite, and Arcade Zombie, as it can bounce through or ignore their method of protection. However, it should not be used alone in Lost City, due to the risks of Parasol Zombie; therefore, it should be paired with plants like Red Stinger. It can be used in Ancient Egypt and Dark Ages to quickly clear tombstones in a single lane. However, it only does so when no zombies are in its lane, making plants like Laser Bean, Fume-shroom, and Phat Beet more reliable for clearing graves.

Trivia

 * Before the 3.7.1 update, A.K.E.E. was spelled as "A.K.E.E" (without the final period). This only occurred in the header of its Almanac entry and on the Lost City map, as it was spelled "A.K.E.E." everywhere else.
 * A.K.E.E.'s seeds do not bounce off individual zombies if there are many in a small space. Instead, it will bounce off one and deal damage to all of them.
 * A.K.E.E.'s seeds will not bounce to the next zombie if that zombie has not fully entered the lawn.
 * This is why its seeds never bounce to Imp Cannons, as they are considered to be zombies that have not fully entered the lawn.
 * Although A.K.E.E.'s seeds may hit an Imp Cannon if there's no plank nor zombies on the lane.
 * If there are no zombies on the lawn at all, A.K.E.E.'s launchers during its Plant Food effect will just produce a hiss and a puff of smoke, similar to other lobbed-shot plants.
 * It is possible for A.K.E.E.'s seeds to bounce backwards. This can happen when either a Swashbuckler Zombie or a Relic Hunter Zombie are still swinging and there are zombies in front of them, or when a seed hits the Zombot Tuskmaster 10,000 BC in Modern Day - Day 33.
 * A.K.E.E. has a similar reload animation to Small Lotus.
 * Its military hat costume may be a reference to mortars in wars, as they have many similarities (they both launch projectiles in similar arcs, and A.K.E.E.'s seeds resemble the bombs fired by these weapons).
 * This is the only plant that has an acronym for a name.