PP (short for Power Points) is a mechanic introduced in Generation I.
Description
PP measures the number of times that a Pokémon can use a move; this makes them essential to attack, support, stall, recover, or defend, depending on the move's effect. Weaker moves generally have less PP than stronger moves, which have fewer PP to compensate for being stronger.
They are also significant for moves like Trump Card, Fury Cutter, and some others, as well as the Metronome (based on consecutive usage of the same move). The move Spite will reduce the PP of the last move your opponent used, and vice versa.
Usage
After a move has been used, its PP is reduced by one point. If an attack has no PP left, it can no longer be used. Moves that double as field moves, such as Surf or Fly, do not use any PP when used on the field. Moves that take multiple turns to execute, such as Solar Beam or Bide, reduce one PP per turn. The move Trump Card becomes more powerful the lower its PP is.
Loss
Some moves cause the targeted Pokémon's PP to drop to zero more quickly: Spite, which decreases the PP of the target's most recently used move by 4; Grudge, which reduces the PP of one of the attacking Pokémon's moves to zero if it caused the opponent to faint; G-Max Depletion, which decreases the PP of the target's most recently used move by 2; and Eerie Spell, which decreases the PP of the target's most recently used move by 3. Additionally, the Ability Pressure makes it so that if a move is used against a Pokémon with the Ability, the attacking Pokémon reduces one more PP from the move that they used than usual.
If a Pokémon has no PP left for any of its moves, it automatically uses Struggle each turn.
Restoring
PP, along with HP can be restored mainly at a Pokémon Center, but doing this fully restores both stats for every Pokémon in the player's party. Any of the Ethers can restore a Pokémon's PP at least in part. If a Pokémon in the player's party is deposited into a PC, its PP is restored entirely.
In Generation II only, the Sacred Ash restores the PP of all moves of every Pokémon in the player's party. MysteryBerries can restore 5 PP to a Pokémon.
From Generation III onward, a Leppa Berry can be used to restore 10 PP of a Pokémon.
In Generation V only, a Pokémon's PP can be restored at Entralink by purchasing the Pass Power PP Restoring Power or one of its two upgrades with Pass Orbs.
Lunar Dance, a signature move of Cresselia's, not only restores the PP but also the HP of the Pokémon that is switched in. Lunar Dance is the only healing move that can restore PP.
Increasing
Unlike other statistics, the PP of a Pokémon's moves cannot be increased when it levels up. A move's PP can be increased only by using the vitamin PP Up or its upgrade, PP Max. A PP Up increases the PP of a move by a fifth of its base value, and one can be used on a move only up to three times. Meanwhile, using a PP Max is the equivalent of using a PP Up three times. A move's PP cannot exceed beyond 160 percent of its base number.
The lowest base PP a move can have is 1, but only for Sketch and Revival Blessing, while the highest is 40, like with Splash. Moves with a PP of 1 cannot have it increased with PP Up or PP Max.
A move's PP can start at any of the following numbers and increase up to any of the following numbers:
| Base | Maximum |
|---|---|
| 1 | N/A |
| 5 | 8 |
| 10 | 16 |
| 15 | 24 |
| 20 | 32 |
| 25 | 40 |
| 30 | 48 |
| 35 | 56 |
| 40 | 64 |
Appearances
Core series
In Generation I, wild Pokémon and Pokémon used by other Pokémon Trainers do not have PP, so they can use their moves as much as desired.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series
PP has a similar role in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, limiting the number of times that a Pokémon can use a move. A Reviver Seed can be used to restore the PP of a Pokémon's moves entirely.
There are some IQ skills that affect PP in some form. The PP Checker skill in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team prevents a partner Pokémon from using a move if they have no remaining PP for that move. There are a few different IQ skills in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky that involve PP: PP Saver, which allows a Pokémon to sometimes use moves without using any PP; Deep Breather, in which a 1 PP of a Pokémon's random move is restored when it goes to the next floor; and Multitalent, which increases the maximum PP of every move by 5.
With a linked move, each move involved in it uses 1 PP, but if one of the moves runs out of PP, the link is broken, causing each of the moves to be used independently.
Certain elements can reset the a move's PP to 0, such as Spite, which resets the last move used to 0, and the PP Leech Trap, which resets the PP of a random move to 0.