Pluto - Health Routing

There are 3 "tanks" you need to pass in this stage. Taking damage from them is 8 HP each (3x8=24), and you only have 19 HP.

Keep this in mind as you go through the stage and decide for your skill level how to proceed.

The second tank has a falling beam that only does 2 HP, which you can use to dboost through.

The third tank is after Protoman, so there is a reasonable chance you will have either full health or a large health drop on the screen before it.

If you want certainty, you can use Mercury's weapon in the second half of the stage to refill, just keep in mind thisloses time, and you need Mercury to use against Pluto.