Fisherman Zombie

*Casts his line to pull far plants to him.*

Everyone is tired of Fisherman Zombie's fishing stories. He's always bragging about the size of his catch. Time and time again, he claims to have caught "the big one." But the fact of the matter is, no one has seen him actually catch a fish. Not once. It's more than a little suspicious.

**Fisherman Zombie** is the fourth special zombie encountered in Big Wave Beach in *Alternate UniverZ*. He pulls the nearest plant to the right one tile at a time (unless there is a surfboard, then he will pull it across the surfboard) until it either falls into the water or it reaches the Fisherman Zombie itself, after which he will throw his catch from the lawn, destroying it.

He cannot hook plants considered "low to the ground," such as Iceberg Lettuce, but they may still be pulled forward from behind via another hooked plant.

## Almanac entry

**Fisherman Zombie**

Casts his line to pull far plants to him.

Health: 700
Special Ability: pulls plants to the right every 3 seconds
Extra Ability: can pull plants only from column 3 onwards
Extra Ability: plants next to him are tossed off the lawn
Weakness: can't pull Blockoli and Infi-nut's PF shield

Everyone is tired of Fisherman Zombie's fishing stories. He's always bragging about the size of his catch. Time and time again, he claims to have caught "the big one." But the fact of the matter is, no one has seen him actually catch a fish. Not once. It's more than a little suspicious.

## Overview

Fisherman Zombie absorbs a total of 700 damage. His appearance changes upon absorbing 350 damage (when his arm falls off) before dying.

## Encounters

* Player's House: Piñata Party

* Big Wave Beach: BWB-IV, BWB-VI, BWB-VIII, BWB-X, BWBX-II, BWBX-IV, BWBX-V, BWBX-VI, BWBX-IX and BWBX-X

* Plant Showcase: Grinded by Gears

* When Worlds Flourish: 10

* Endless Zones: Tiki Torch-er

## Strategies

Even though the Fisherman Zombie cannot eat your brains by himself, his special ability can easily allow other zombies, who *are* capable of eating your brains, through your lawn. Because he does not move and stays at the back column of the lawn, he is often safe from close-range plants like Snapdragon, Chomper, and Bonk Choy, while long-range plants will have trouble killing him before he can drag down multiple plants and ensure that zombies like Surfer Zombies and Deep Sea Gargantuars absorb all of the plants' projectiles.

Aside from instant-kill plants like Cherry Bomb and Tangle Kelp, the Magnifying Grass can kill him the quickest with three shots at 75 sun. Banana Launcher and Laser Bean are also good choices, especially when given Plant Food, as they can send an attack at any tile on the board, bypassing all other zombies.

Planting a column of Banana Launchers in the back-most columns, then a row of defensive plants ahead of the row to be pulled forward by the Fisherman Zombie is a very effective strategy. That way, if octopi are on top of your defensive plants, you can bombard them with those attacks. Slowing plants like Winter Melon may also help against these zombies.

The Infi-nut's Plant Food shield is immensely effective as it will block hooks from all lanes. The hooks don't inflict damage to the shield, so this can be used to stall them until the next wave comes. Blockoli is also a practical choice, as even without Plant Food, he cannot be hooked by Fisherman Zombies.

Like the Octo Zombie, the Fisherman Zombie will always target the front-most plant first, so the player can plant literal "bait" to distract him by using sacrificial plants such as Puff-shrooms or extra Sunflowers and Sun-shrooms, forcing the Fisherman Zombie to waste time hooking them instead. Be careful as the Fisherman Zombie will ignore some types of plants even if they are in the front, such as Potato Mines, Iceberg Lettuce, and Lily Pads.

Instant use plants like Blover and Submerge-mint are also useful to prevent them from hooking plants. Simply put one in the same row as soon as the Fisherman Zombie tries to hook other plants. He will hook the instant use plant and provide it as a temporary shield. You could also leave an A.K.E.E., Electric Peashooter, or Laser Bean in the back so they can target all zombies in their lane. A Spring Bean in the tile in front of the zombie, with a Lily Pad will also block the hooking, due to the fact that it will be at the floor and can't be hooked. Rotobagas, Ghost Peppers, and Void Orchids are also good distractions since they won't sink without Lily Pads due to them having the ability to fly over water.

Note: Coconut Cannon and Citron are impractical against this zombie as they require a clear path to destroy him. Besides, they have a very slow recharge which is their main weakness as Fisherman Zombie acts quite fast. However, feeding Plant Food for them will be helpful to take out the Fisherman Zombie (be aware that in Citron's case, as its light-blue plasma ball may not hurt the Fisherman if there is a Deep Sea Gargantuar in front of it).