Xu Mu's Pokémon had given it everything they had.
The tide of battle had shifted dramatically after Xu Mu, Hiroshi, and the others arrived.
Team Rocket could no longer keep its forces surrounded and attack without restraint. The arrival of over two million powerful reinforcements with no military experience had thrown its deployments into chaos.
For a time, Team Rocket's command broke down. Soldiers lost track of their officers, and officers lost track of their soldiers.
Xu Feng seized the opening and turned the tide, fighting Team Rocket to a standstill.
But the battle was hardly going to end there.
Celebi had Xu Mu's Pokémon protecting her, but she still had a problem of her own to solve.
The Celebi she had come to rescue was still suffering. Every so often, he released Heal Pulse and life energy, drawing on his own essence to restore Team Rocket's Pokémon.
That was why Frog and the others kept beating their opponents without managing to take them down.
Mienfoo was the exception. He was just unlucky: Zeus's Tackle dealt true damage that ignored everything.
And if Mienfoo could recover health? Zeus's powers covered everything. His Tackle inflicted a grievous wound that prevented healing!
There was no getting around that!
When you were the Creator God, you got to be invincible.
Anyway, you get the idea. Zeus was just that powerful; his abilities overrode everything else.
"Celebi, how's it going? Can he still be saved?"
"Celebi... I'm not sure. I don't think I have enough power to purify him on my own. And he seems determined to die. He's refusing all contact, so I can't reach his true self."
Hearing Celebi describe the situation in such technical terms, Xu Mu froze for a second before it sank in.
*Have I really reached this point