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 USD $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 (like Zombie Chickens) into oblivion. For a detailed list of effects, see the Overview section below.

Origins
Shrinking Violet is based on the Viola, a genus of flowering plants 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 in its petals and occasionally peeks from them 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, Super-Fan Imps, Zombie Parrots, Zombie Chickens, Ice Weasels, and Seagull Zombies will be instantly killed (however, in the case of Seagull Zombies, only the seagulls that makes Seagull Zombies fly shrink into oblivion; consequently, the Seagull Zombie will perish immediately after) 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. The decreased size also comes with a smaller hitbox, and will allow the zombies to evade certain attacks such as a part of Repeater's Plant Food effect, and all of Bowling Bulb's attacks. Certain attacks that can instantly crush plants are exempted from this rule, such as Gargantuar's smash and Surfer Zombie's surfboard. The entire stunning animation takes 2 seconds, during which the targeted zombies are immobilised.

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 other dinosaurs. Barrel Roller Zombies, Troglobites and Arcade Zombies can no longer push their barrels, frozen blocks and arcade machines, respectively. Imp Cannon and Zombie King are also immune to Shrinking Violet, probably due to their immobile nature. 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 would otherwise have resistance to it.

It is important to note that lawn obstacles (such as tombstones or surfboards) are not counted as zombies and therefore cannot be shrunken.

Shrinking Violet is an excellent choice in Endless Zones due to its relatively fast recharge for its effect, its large area of effect, and its great Plant Food effect. Shrinking Violet can be combined with Tile Turnip and other plants whose Plant Food effects cover a large area, such as Winter Melon, Strawburst, and Shadow-shroom. A boosted Shrinking Violet can also help.

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 effect
When fed Plant Food, Shrinking Violet increases in size and shrinks all zombies in play, including those off-screen. It then turns back to its regular size.

Strategies
Shrinking Violet shares its role with a few other plants such as Stallia and Stunion as an instant plant designed for suppressing the incoming enemies, rather than killing them outright. However, Shrinking Violet is still relatively unique when compared to its colleagues, as while stunning and slowing are only temporarily, the shrinking effect can permanently cripple the target by cutting down its health and damage capability. This, combined with the short recharge time and general ease of use makes Shrinking Violet an incredibly useful plant in the game - a Shrinking Violet combined with Imitater can effectively double, or when combined with slowing plants, quadruple the offensive potential of all other offensive plants on the field.

Shrinking Violet's utility is further extended by its more unique effects against certain foes. In the Wild West and Frostbite Caves, Shrinking Violet can be used against Chicken Wrangler Zombies and Weasel Hoarders to prevent them from releasing Zombie Chickens and Ice Weasels. Shrinking Violet can also be used to block Troglobites and Arcade Zombies from pushing blocks, greatly reduce the effectiveness of MC Zom-Bs and prevent pterodactyls from deploying zombies on the back of the field in Jurassic Marsh. Last but not least, Shrinking Violet can be used as a quick solution for early level Imps, as well as preventing Gargantuars and Zombie Bulls from throwing them deep into the player's defense.

It is a poor idea to use this plant in levels where the player 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 effect. With Shovel Boost, the player can shovel Shrinking Violet up while the the shrinking animation is still playing to be refunded some sun.

Shrinking Violet along with other plants can make a devastating combination with Tile Turnip. Planting Tile Turnips underneath a Shrinking Violet and several Winter Melons can, in most cases, empty out the zombie horde. First, feed Plant Food to Shrinking Violet. As the zombies are shrunken, a deadly melon rain falls, dealing huge damage, and in most cases, can kill even very dense groups of Gargantuars due to them taking double damage.

Trivia

 * All shrunken zombies' sound will be faster and higher pitched. As such, Pianist Zombie's music and Boombox Zombie's ballad jam 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.
 * This has been fixed in the 4.5 update.
 * After it shrinks a Zombie Bull, the laughing sound of the Zombie Bull Rider can still be heard.
 * In the 4.3 update, zombies took 5 seconds to be shrunken and did not suffer from reduced damage.
 * The Imps in the Modern Day Part 1 trailer do not shrink into oblivion, instead shrinking into a smaller size like most zombies.
 * Shrinking Violet have different effects on special ability zombies her ability will cause to:
 * Imps - Shrink to oblivion.
 * Chicken Wrangler Zombies - Cannot release chickens.
 * Troglobites - Cannot push frozen blocks.
 * Weasel Hoarders - Cannot release weasels.
 * Glitter Zombies - Can only cover one tile behind them.
 * MC Zom-Bs - Can only attack plants on the lane they are.
 * Arcade Zombies - Cannot push arcade machines.
 * This is the third premium plant that can be used in a Zomboss battle. The first is the Pea-nut and the second is the Cactus.
 * If Shrinking Violet is used on a Dodo Rider Zombie, the Imp rider will shrink into oblivion, only leaving the dodo left.
 * This is the only way to see the dodo without the Imp riding it.
 * The fact that this plant is released during Modern Day may be a reference to Big Trouble Little Zombie.