A.K.E.E.

A.K.E.E. 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 tombstone to tombstone and other obstacles on the lawn.

Etymology
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 upgrade
When given Plant Food, A.K.E.E. fires large akee seeds at the first zombie in every lane - a total of five, unless some lanes do not have zombies in them. Each seeds deal 20 normal damage shots to affected enemies, and can bounce through multiple targets like normal seeds.

Strategies
A.K.E.E. serves a role comparable to Laser Bean: To damage and neutralize multiple zombies in a single lane. Compared to Laser Bean, A.K.E.E deals more damage on the first two target 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 the Endless Zone, where very large number of zombies will spawn and reliable penetration is requires. A.K.E.E.'s projectile can also be blocked by Parasol Zombie, or reflected by Jester Zombie. Their Plant Food abilities are also different: While Laser Bean's is more suited for dispatching high health targets such as Gargantuar, A.K.E.E.'s is better used to clear multiple low health zombies across the board.

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. It can also be used in Ancient Egypt and Dark Ages to quickly clear graves in a single row.

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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * A.K.E.E. has a similar animation to that of Small Lotus after lobbing. They both switch tubes.
 * A.K.E.E. is the only plant in Plants vs. Zombies 2 which uses guns to fire.
 * It is the second in the entire series, the first being Gatling Pea.
 * Small Lotus' attack animation is similar, but it doesn't use guns.
 * When A.K.E.E. fires its seed, its teeth disappear, then reappear when it reloads.