Pole Vaulting Zombie

Pole Vaulting Zombies are blonde-haired, jersey-wearing Zombie track stars with a pole. They vault over the first plant they encounter, except for Tall-nuts, which they can't vault over, and they do not jump over Spikeweeds and Spikerocks. It is the 4th Zombie you will encounter in Adventure Mode. It mimics an Olympic event of the same name.

Suburban Almanac Entry
 Pole Vaulting Zombie 

Pole Vaulting Zombie vaults with a pole.

Toughness: medium

Speed: fast, then normal (after jump)

Special: jumps the first plant he runs into

Some zombies take it further, aspire more, push themselves beyond the normal into greatness. That's Pole Vaulting Zombie right there. That is so him.

Overview
Absorbs 17 normal damage shots. Appearance changes upon absorption of 9 normal damage shots before dying at 17 normal damage shots. When he approaches any of your plants besides a Tall-nut, he will hop over it. He then loses his pole and his speed goes down.

Appearances
Adventure Mode: 1-6, 1-7, 1-9, 1-10, 2-4, 3-4, 3-5 (DS, DSi), 3-9, 5-2, 5-10

Mini-games: Wall-nut Bowling, Zombie Nimble Zombie Quick, Last Stand, Wall-nut Bowling 2, Dr. Zomboss's Revenge, Buttered Popcorn, Heavy Weapon, Heat Wave, Sunny Day

Puzzle Mode: Scary Potter, Me Smash!, ZomBoogie, All your brainz r belong to us, I, Zombie Endless, all Last Stand (iOS Puzzle Mode) levels except Last Stand: Fog

Survival Mode: all levels

Co-op Mode: all levels

Others: Vs. Mode

Strategy
Use Tall-nuts to block the Pole Vaulting Zombie or plant cheap plants (such as a Puff-shroom) in front if it to make it lose its pole. Squash also works great, but the slow recharge time won't let you kill every Pole Vaulting Zombie. Magnet-shrooms, unfortunately, do not affect its pole, so it really reduces the chance of trying to prevent the jump without a Tall-nut.

If there are two Peashooters in a row or a Repeater when a Pole Vaulting Zombie has just entered, they will be able to take it down before it gets to the end of the row (Snow Peas are effectively the same).

Using Split Peas will also help since it can vault over the plant. The peas shooting backwards can kill the zombie more easily.

I, Zombie Puzzle Mode levels
Deploy these to overcome obstacles, like Wall-nuts or Garlic, or for cases where a zombie in a row will not make it to the end. Pole Vaulting Zombies are possibly one of the most useful zombies available in many situations, and should be used instead of Conehead Zombies as they go much faster. Never jump over a Split Pea or a Starfruit as it will fire backwards at the zombie, or a Tall-nut as he will not make it over. Use a Ladder Zombie instead for Tall-nuts.

Trivia

 * It is possible that the Pole Vaulting Zombie was an Olympian competing in the event before he died and got zombified.
 * When a hypnotized zombie meets a Pole Vaulting Zombie, the Pole Vaulting Zombie will not eat the zombie but he just runs past the zombie while the zombie eats him.
 * This is probably because Pole Vaulting Zombies do not eat when they have a pole still in their hands.
 * In Wall-nut Bowling 2, the Giant Wall-nut is the only Wall-nut Pole Vaulting Zombie cannot jump over.
 * When a Pole Vaulting Zombie tries to jump over a Cherry Bomb, a Doom-shroom, or a Jalapeno when they explode, the Pole Vaulting Zombie will vaporize in midair without any ashes appearing.
 * The same happens when a Imp is in the air.
 * In I, Zombie, instead of vaulting over a brain, the Pole Vaulting Zombie loses its pole (if it still has it) once it reaches the brain.IMG_1440.png
 * When a Pole Vaulting Zombie dies before it vaults over a plant, its pole will disappear.
 * The Pole Vaulting Zombie and the old Backup Dancer are the only zombies with headbands.
 * When a Pole Vaulting Zombie vaults over a plant, there is a "Sproing!" sound like the Jack-in-the-Box Zombie.
 * Although the Pole Vaulting Zombie can jump over Chompers, if the zombie is slowed down, the Chomper will be able to eat it before it can do so.
 * Chompers in the Online Version can eat it before it jumps, even if it is going at maximum speed.
 * The Pole Vaulting Zombie and the Football Zombie are former athletes, which may be the reason of their faster than normal speed.
 * The Pole Vaulting Zombie comes more often in the Xbox Live Arcade version.
 * The Pole Vaulting Zombie and the Snorkel Zombie are the only zombies that wear singlets and shorts.
 * When a Pole Vaulting Zombie tries to jump over a Tall-nut, stars appear around their head. The same thing happens with the Dolphin Rider Zombie and the Pogo Zombie.
 * The Pole Vaulting Zombie and the old Backup Dancer are the only zombies that are blonde-haired in the game.Badge-pounce.png


 * When a Cattail is targeting a Pole Vaulting Zombie and the zombie vaults, the Spikes will act as it would if the zombie already died, but when the Pole Vaulting Zombie lands, the spike will turn around and aim at the zombie again.
 * It is one of the three Zombies that can be stopped with a Tall-nut, the others are the Dolphin Rider Zombie and the Pogo Zombie.
 * If the Pole Vaulting Zombie runs into a Tall-nut and a Kernel-pult is in it's lane the zombie hits the Tall-nut and the Kernel-pult will throw butter causing the Pole Vaulting Zombie to be in mid-air.
 * In Wall-nut Bowling, when a Wall-nut was placed under the Pole Vaulting Zombie with its pole, the zombie will die with its pole.
 * There's a glitch that might occur if a Pole Vaulting Zombie vaults over a Torchwood into any type of peashooting plant, the peas shot by that peashooter while it is getting eaten will go through the Pole Vaulting Zombie into the Torchwood without freezing or damaging the Pole Vaulting Zombie.
 * In the online version, the Pole Vaulting Zombie loses an arm but no bone can be seen. However, when it falls down it can be seen.
 * This is the first Vaulting Zombie that appears in the game.
 * The Pole Vaulting Zombie has two glitches that you may not know:
 * First, its right arm doesn't stick to the body.
 * Proof: Go to the reanim folder, replace the file Zombie_jaw with a blank file. Then open the game, you will see its arm doesn't stick to the body.
 * Second, the Pole doesn't stick together.
 * Proof: Go to the reanim folder, replace file Zombie_polevaulter_innerhand with a blank file. Then open the game, you will see the pole doesn't stick together.
 * If a Pole Vaulting Zombie jumps over a Chomper in the DS version The Chomper apears to have took a bite, but a few seconds later the Vaulter jumps over it and does not get eaten.
 * Interestingly, when faced with a Cob Cannon, Pole Vaulting Zombies can jump over BOTH spaces, but Dolphin Rider Zombies can't.