Kernel-pult (PvZ)

*For other uses, see Kernel-pult (disambiguation).*

## **Kernel-pult**

Kernel-pults fling corn kernels and butter at zombies.

Kernel-pult is the eldest of the Pult brothers. Of the three of them, Kernel is the only one who consistently remembers the others' birthdays. He bugs them about it a little, too.

**Kernel-pult** is an offensive lobbed-shot plant in *Plants vs. Zombies*. While he normally lobs kernels that deal 20 damage per shot at an equal rate to Cabbage-pult, he has a 25% chance to fire a butter projectile that deals 40 damage per shot to his target, briefly stunning it in most cases.

## About

Kernel-pult is unlocked after completing Level 5-2. His butter attack can stun the target for 5 seconds. Two Kernel-pults placed adjacent to another horizontally can be upgraded into a Cob Cannon.

## Strategies

Kernel-pult is a rather fickle plant, as his performance is highly inconsistent and heavily dependent on the random number generator. While his damage per second potential is normally ranked amongst the lowest in the player's arsenal, his butter attack can prove to be highly devastating against high-health target, especially when Kernel-pult is aided by other more powerful offensive plants. Therefore, Kernel-pult will find most of his use as an early- to mid-game support plant to bolster others' performance, rather than a conventional offensive plant, so this is best used for support more than anything else.

Certain plants with limited attack radius, such as Spikerock, Spikeweed, and Chomper (for inedible zombies) will benefit significantly from Kernel-pult. The latter's stunning effect can occasionally stun zombies and force them to stay on the former's attack range for a longer amount of time and allow these plants to deal more damage.

Kernel-pult is highly important in the Roof levels, as the incline of the Roof will upset the firing of peas, spores, etc. He can also bypass Screen Door Zombies' and Ladder Zombies' shield and hurt them directly, as well as hit submerged Snorkel Zombies.

### I, Zombie

Because of the inconsistency of butter throwing frequency, it is easy to misjudge the power of a Kernel-pult in I, Zombie. One Kernel-pult near the back could prove to be very hard to deal with, especially if Digger Zombies cannot eat him. Consider either doubling up zombies or using a stronger one (Football Zombie, Dancing Zombie, Buckethead Zombie) instead in rows with Kernel-pults. In rows with more than one Kernel-pult, Digger Zombies and Bungee Zombies should be considered, instead of a head-on assault.

## Trivia

* In a Q&A stream hosted by Laura Shigihara, she revealed how she made the sound of the Kernel-pult's butter hitting a zombie. She first tried throwing butter into oatmeal, and when that didn't work she asked George Fan if she could throw butter at him. He agreed, and Laura then spent 10 minutes throwing butter at George to produce the sound she needed.
* An eyebrow-less and catapult-less Kernel-pult could be seen in the Character Menu on the original official *Plants vs. Zombies* website.
	+ In the old iPod Touch and iPhone versions of the game, there is also an image of an eyebrowless Kernel-pult on the seed packet. However, the actual Kernel-pult does have eyebrows. However, he still does not have them on the seed packet in the iPad version.
* Like with other catapult plants, if a zombie is directly in front of a Kernel-pult, the kernel or butter will hit the zombie instantly instead of flying up in the air.
* If a zombie has butter on his head while one enters the code "dance", it will not dance but instead pose in a frame of the dance until the butter wears off.
* If he is about to lob butter, but is squashed, the squashed Kernel-pult will have a kernel on his basket instead of butter.
* His Almanac entry states that he is the oldest of the pult family, whereas Melon-pult is stated as the middle child in the second game. With both of these facts, Cabbage-pult is assumed to be the youngest.
* When choosing where to plant him in the Xbox Live Arcade version, butter can be seen on his basket.

## See also

* Cob Cannon
* Lobbed shots
* Butter

es:Lanzamaíz
fr:Cata-graine
ru:Зернопульта
pl:Kernel-pult
zh:玉米投手