PP

Power points, or PP for short, are the energy that a Pokémon requires in order to perform a move.

Each move has a set number of Power points. Under the PP system, moves can be performed anywhere from 5 to 64 times; higher damage-dealing moves typically have low PP counts, and the reverse is also true. The PP system limits the value of especially powerful moves such as Fire Blast. There are three exceptions: the move Sketch has only one PP and the moves Shadow Rush and Struggle both have infinite PP.

Once a move runs out of PP, it can no longer be performed. After the PP of all of a Pokémon's moves has run out, the Pokémon will have to revert to Struggle (which hurts the user when it hits).

Outside of battle, Hidden Machines may be used even if the Power points of the HM move have been used up.

Elixirs and Ethers temporarily restore a move's PP, and a visit to any Pokémon Center will replentish PP to its maximum. PP Up permanently raises the PP of one move by one fifth of its original value. Each move, however, has a cap on the max number of Power Points it can have equal to the original value times 1.6 (three PP Ups). PP Max permanently raises the PP of a move to its maximum value.

Power points, like many other game mechanics, are absent in the Anime and Manga. The Trading Card Game, however, employs a system similar to the games, which requires a certain number of Energy cards to be attached to a Pokémon before it can perform a move.