Shrinking Violet

Shrinking Violet is a single-use premium plant in Plants vs. Zombies 2. It was first revealed in teaser Piñata Parties for Modern Day Part 1 as its associated premium plant, and can be purchased for $4.99.

Shrinking Violet has the ability to shrink zombies in a 3x3 area around it, which in itself has unique effects depending on what type of zombie was shrunk: namely, removing certain abilities and shrinking Imps and other small zombies into oblivion. For a detailed list of effects, see the Overview section below.

Origins
It is based on the genus of flowering plants, Viola, which are mostly found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The term "shrinking violet" describes a shy person, and Shrinking Violet is shy according to its Almanac entry, an aspect shown visibly as it hides and occasionally peeks during its idle animation.

Overview
As mentioned before, Shrinking Violet's minimizing ability has different results depending on the zombie it is being used on. First and foremost, all Imp variants, including Bug Bot Imps, Imp Porters, Zombie Chickens, Ice Weasels, and Seagull Zombies will be instantly killed, and they also cannot be spawned by shrunken enemies. Most other zombies, however will have their size drastically reduced, their damage intake doubled and their attack strength halved. Certain attacks that can instantly crush plants are exempted from this rule, such as Gargantuar's smash, Surfer Zombie's surfboard and Glitter Zombie's ability to crush plants when the pop jam is playing.

Unique effects can be observed in some situations. Shrunken enemies cannot be picked up by pterodactyls in Jurassic Marsh but can otherwise be interacted with by other dinosaurs. Block-pushing zombies, namely Troglobite and Arcade Zombie, can no longer push frozen blocks and arcade machines, respectively. Imp Cannon and Zombie King are also immune to Shrinking Violet. MC Zom-B can no longer hit plants in lanes above and below it. Finally, all minimized zombies can be thrown away with Power Toss, including Gargantuars which have immunity to it when in normal size.

It is important to note that none of the lawn obstacles (such as tombstones or surfboards) count as zombies and therefore cannot be shrunken.

Almanac entry
Sun cost: 50

AREA: 3x3

RECHARGE: Slow

Shrinking Violets shrinks zombies in an area, forcing them to take double damage and reducing the bite damage they inflict.

USAGE: single use, activates on contact

RANGE: affects zombies in surrounding tiles

SPECIAL: shrinks imps to oblivion

Shrinking Violet started out shy, but it's remarkable how a discovering a magical talent for zombie-reduction can change your whole outlook.

Plant Food upgrade
When fed Plant Food, Shrinking Violet increases in size and shrinks all zombies on screen. It then turns back to its regular size.

Strategies
Shrinking Violet is an advantageous plant that helps shrink zombies in small sizes, making it easier to defeat tougher zombies. One good strategy is to use this plant on large numbers of Chicken Wrangler Zombies and Weasel Hoarders, preventing them from releasing Zombie Chickens and Ice Weasels in miniature sizes. Another good strategy is to use Shrinking Violet on large groups of Imp Porters in Lost City, so that they cannot establish their tents and spawn more zombies. Yet another good candidate is MC Zom-B, since it can no longer hit plants in lanes above and below it when shrunken. With Shovel Boost, you can shovel it up once it has shrunk zombies to be refunded some sun.

Shrinking Violet is excellent against groups of Gargantuars, as it will not only render them much less durable, but will also remove any Imps they are carrying, preventing them from throwing Imps to the third column.

Combining this and other plants that can do splash damage is a good idea, as this can help defeat shrunken zombies quicker. A good example to do this is to use Coconut Cannons, Strawbursts, Melon-pults, etc. Combining this with Ghost Pepper and Sweet Potato is also a good idea, as it can help defeat shrunken zombies quicker (including tougher ones). It is also best to combine it with Imitater, due to its large cooldown time.

Note that it is a bad idea to use this plant in levels where you cannot lose plants, as the Shrinking Violet will disappear after being activated. It is also a bad idea to use this on Imp Cannons and Zombie Kings, as these zombies are immune to this affect. Better advantages are to use this against large numbers of Troglobites and Arcade Zombies to prevent them from pushing their frozen blocks and arcade machines.

Trivia

 * All shrunken zombies' sound will be faster and higher pitched. As such, Pianist Zombie's music will play faster and at a higher pitch.
 * If Shrinking Violet's Plant Food is used, and Thyme Warp is used on the shrunken zombies, the game will crash.
 * In Dark Alchemy, all zombies that are boosted in size by potions will shrink to a miniature zombie when affected by Shrinking Violets instead of going back to their original state.
 * After it shrinks a Zombie Bull, the laughing sound of the Zombie Bull Rider can still be heard.
 * The size-reduction effect could be a reference to the mini-game Big Trouble Little Zombie from the first game, where zombies would take more damage while also gaining speed to keep up with their larger counterparts and coming in larger groups.
 * In the 4.3 update, zombies took longer to be shrunken and did not deal less damage to plants.
 * Zombies behind a shrunken Glitter Zombie's trail will not be protected.
 * It may be a reference to the literary metaphor "Shy as a violet."
 * In fact, its shyness is directly stated in the Almanac.
 * This may explain why it seems to be hiding constantly.
 * Violets in the real world grow best in darker, shady areas. Coincidentally, Shrinking Violet is associated with the world in which Shadow plants were introduced.