Ancient Fruitmoth

Ancient Fruitmoth is a powerful plant in Plants vs. Zombies 2 that flies to the strongest zombie on the lawn when planted and carries them away, Zombie Parrot style. It takes around 5 seconds for the zombie to be carried away, and they're slowed down by 80% and attack 50% slower for those 5 seconds. There's nothing the zombies can do to save their friend. He's rat meat now. After doing that, Ancient Fruitmoth returns to Home Base (the tile it was Planted on) and cools down for 15 seconds. After those 15 seconds are up, Ancient Fruitmoth flies off again in search of a tough zombie opponent to bring to Jesus. If the zombie that Ancient Fruitmoth is preparing to take away is taken down, absolutely gargled, it immediately seeks out another target... ...maybe something to look out for.
Any zombie can be taken away, excluding Gargantuars. For Gargantuars, those big poppers, Ancient Fruitmoth applies a damage-over-time effect that deals 100 DPS every 0.5 seconds, or for those of you who aren't mathematically inclined 200 DPS every second - that Gargantuar will be a goner in just 18 seconds. Each additional Ancient Fruitmoth that lands on the same Gargantuar (only happens with Gargies) adds 100 DPS to that effect. Meaning if you were to have a group of 5 Ancient Fruitmoths on a Gargantuar, that zombie is taking 1000 DPS every second and will be dead in just over three seconds.
Ancient Fruitmoth has an added perk where it leaves behind a mystical trail of pollen wherever it goes. That trail slows zombies that touch it down by 30% and deals 5 DPS of damage to them every 0.5 seconds, while it's only y'know 10 damage a second it adds up. The trail lingers for 5 seconds, and is left behind Ancient Fruitmoth ANY TIME IT MOVES; whether it's hunting, retargeting, retreating, moving to the Netherlands, anything. It's a powerful effect and if you have multiple Ancient Fruitmoths at once you'll have a lot of the board locked down in terms of slowing and chip damage.
== Origins ==
Ancient Fruitmoth is loosely based on the fruit moth, a moth of the family Tortricidae, found in Eastern North America and western Colorado, where it is an important agricultural pest in vineyards. It is native to Eastern North America, with wild grape as ancestral host plant. In recent times, it has also been observed in western Colorado. The primary host plant in both areas is grape, both wild and cultivated variations, though documentation of fruit moths on other host plants, including sassafras and blackberry, exists.
== Almanac entry ==
== Plant Food effect ==
When fed Plant Food, Ancient Fruitmoth and its Home Base evolve into golden forms. While in Golden Form, the Home Base gains +1000 DPS Toughness for a total of 1500 DPS, and Ancient Fruitmoth can now carry away three zombies before needing to rest. If Ancient Fruitmoth was resting when it was fed Plant Food, it immediately goes out again to find a zombie target. In addition, its slowing trail lasts for 10 seconds instead of 5 seconds.
== Contain-mint effect ==
When boosted by Contain-mint, Ancient Fruitmoth will not rest for the entire duration of the mint (so it's just constantly buzzing around), takes 2.5 seconds to carry away zombies instead of 5, and moves twice as quickly. The damage it deals to Gargantuars is also doubled. That's a pretty powerful effect on an already powerful plant! Maybe Contain-mint will finally be meta?
== Strategies ==
Ancient Fruitmoth is an excellent alternative to single-target plants like or , not only due to the fact that it's not random but because the slowing trails also affect zombies that weren't targeted. This gives it a bit of a unique edge as, while it's getting rid of some of the biggest threats on the lawn, it's also having an effect on the common zombie. Sort of like a successful politician. But there's more. This plant targets the strongest zombie on the lawn. That's not just pure Toughness, buckaroo. Similar to , there are certain zombies that Ancient Fruitmoth will go after more than others. This means that Ancient Fruitmoth is a way to clear out some of those more threatening threats, even if they may be hanging out in the back.
Ancient Fruitmoth's efficiency at defeating also means that it can help you out if you're struggling, like a chum bucket, at taking those out. It's a bit of a double-edged sword though - after a group of Ancient Fruitmoths hunt down a Gargantuar, they all stop to rest. That means that if there's any other zombies on the lawn, those zombies might be able to advance further on the lawn. If there's any other Gargantuars, they might be able to... Gargantuarize? even longer. If there's a McDonalds on the lawn, no Ancient Fruitmoth customers will arrive. That's not good for business. Swarm Gargantuars wisely. Bring support.
Ancient Fruitmoth's Plant Food ability is a longer-term boost, similar to , so don't expect it to steer you out of a pickle. It takes a little bit of time to get value. If you want a burst of super-duper power, try or . Just kidding. Try . Ha, ha! Don't use that garbage. Use . Ok, fine, you got me. Use . Is that a good enough option for you?
==Gallery==
File:Mothberry.png|Mothberry HD
File:GoldenMothberry.png|Mothberry's Golden Form HD
== Trivia ==
* It makes a horrible whirring noise when it takes off. This was a balancing consideration.
** If it made a pleasant sound, it would be overpowered.
** This is just how business goes.
* This is the first time I've made an entire page in one sitting! It was thrilling.
** Fear Me
* Ancient Fruitmoths went extinct due to their main prey - Jurassic Gargantuars - going out of business.
* Wait, didn't the Almanac Entry say they didn't actually go extinct??
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