Shadow Peashooter


 * Not to be confused with Shadow of the Peashooter, a mission in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes.

Shadow Peashooter is a plant in Plants vs. Zombies 2. It attacks by shooting peas at zombies. It can also can pull a zombie into the ground when they get close, similar to Grimrose. When powered by a Moonflower, it shoots piercing bolts that do 70 DPS and slow down zombies similar to Stallia and with zombies closer to the Shadow Peashooter being stalled for longer than ones further from it.

To unlock Shadow Peashooter, players need to collect 250 of its seed packets during Shadow Peashooter's Summer Vacation event. These seed packets can be obtained by buying special Piñatas from the Store for 25 gems or from the reward streak in Battlez.

Origins
Shadow Peashooter is a cross between a Peashooter and a will-o'-the-wisp, as seen by its "flaming" top and bluish color scheme when powered by a Moonflower.

Plant Food effect
Shadow Peashooter's Plant Food effect depends on the number of Moonflowers there are in the lawn.

If there are up to two Moonflowers, it will throw a small projectile at the nearest zombie in its lane and explodes on contact, dealing small amounts of damage to the zombies caught in the blast. The projectile gets bigger once there is two Moonflowers in the lawn.

Once there are three or more Moonflowers in the lawn, it will make a giant smiling bomb (known as the Spirit Bomb) at the middle of the screen, which does massive amounts of damage to all zombies onscreen, as well as slowing them down.

Strategies
Without Moonflower, this plant shoots shadowy peas that do slightly more damage than a normal pea. However, there are other straight shooters that do a better or just as well as a job, some just being a little bit cheaper in sun. On the other hand, this plant shines a lot when powered by Moonflower. Instead of a shadowy pea that hits the closest zombie in the lane, it fires a laser that damage all zombies in the lane, topped with a stalling effect. The laser can help defeat zombies grouped in lanes much quicker and the stalling effect of course slows zombies down.

This plant also has the ability to hide when a zombie gets close and then drag that zombie underground. When powered by Moonflower, it can drag down more zombies. There are benefits to this such as being able to deal with some of the high-health zombies, as well as being a saver when a zombie is going through your defenses. This can also have Shadow Peashooter be used as a substitute for Grimrose. However, it cannot drag certain zombies to defeat them instantly such as Mecha-Football Zombies, Zombie Bulls, and Gargantuars, though it can deal damage when they approach it. Do note that Shadow Peashooters also disappear when these zombies approach it, as it will disappear while dealing damage against these zombies, not defeating them instantly. It is not advisable to use this plant in levels where you cannot lose plants. Although it can drag certain zombies defeating instantly, it instantly disappears which counts as losing a plant, thus this is Shadow Peashooter's greatest weakness.

If you would rather want to use the plant as a shooter, it should be recommended to place this plant at the back behind other plants; even placing it behind one defensive plant would risk it hiding. Also, don't forget that Plant Food cannot be used when hiding. Speaking of Plant Food, it is recommended to use Plant Food for powered Shadow Peashooters to damage more zombies, especially if you are facing large groups of zombies.

Shadow Peashooter makes for an interesting choice when dealing with large groups of Zombie Chickens and Ice Weasels. The laser it can shoot can do good enough damage to them but the previously said ability of hiding can hurt it when those zombies are too close. Another downside is that Shadow Peashooter will usually not be able to drag down very fast zombies in time, an example being unslowed, angered Newspaper Zombies. You will also notice that its projectiles when powered by Moonflower cannot be guarded by certain zombies such as Jester Zombies (they cannot deflect Shadow Peashooter's powered attacks) and Excavator Zombies (their powered attacks pierce through Excavator Zombies' shovels as they cannot block their powered attacks). Remember that their attacks do not damage zombies protected by Glitter Zombie's rainbow, just like all projectiles.

If one were to place Shadow Peashooters in the tiles 3 away from the house, they can swoop up any Imps thrown your defense, which will help protect your sun producing and other plants placed in the left most tiles.

Shadow Peashooter's zombie pulling ability will not work while it is on a Lily Pad and is over water. The zombies will just eat the Lily Pad while the Shadow Peashooter hides doing nothing. If you are planning to use Shadow Peashooter in Big Wave Beach levels, it is advised to place them at the back where there is no water instead.

All in all, Shadow Peashooter should generally be used with Moonflower, and it can also be used as a Tangle Kelp on the ground. It can sufficiently deal with numerous zombies, but beware using it against fast-moving zombies and "Don't lose more than X plants" levels.

Trivia

 * A post by PopCap representative Haemophilus_EA reveals a few facts about the Shadow Peashooter:
 * It is a "mysterious plant" that lives in dark places, but occasionally goes on summer vacation.
 * It is Peashooter's darker cousin.
 * Its powered Plant Food effect is called the Spirit Bomb.
 * Its powered Plant Food effect's explosion is the same as Nuclear Cucumber's but recolored from green to purple.
 * A boosted Shadow Peashooter will always use its powered Plant food effect, regardless of whether or not it is powered.
 * It is the first plant in Plants vs. Zombies 2 that can be earned by collecting seed packets, the second being Sling Pea and the third being Goo Peashooter.
 * Coincedentally, both Shadow Peashooter and Goo Peashoter reuse Stallia's effect.
 * It is the only Shadow Plant to be a Peashooter.
 * It, Scaredy-shroom, and Cactus are the only plants that hide when a Zombie gets close to them.
 * Even before Conceal-mint was released, its Almanac entry said it belongs in the Conceal-mint family.
 * It reuses Stallia's slowing effect when powered.
 * It and Moonflower are the only shadow plants that change their ability depending on how many shadow plants surround them.
 * It is one of the two premium plants that has the Modern Day/Player's House grass background in its almanac instead of the blue background with bright squares, the second being Goo Peashooter.