PP (Japanese:ＰＰ(ピーピー)PP), short forPower Point (Japanese:パワーポイントPower Point), is the energy that aPokémon requires in order to perform amove.

In the core series games

Power Points have existed in everygeneration. It costs 1 PP to use a move (barring the influence of thePressureAbility), so the PP a move has remaining is essentially equivalent to the number of times that move can be used. Each move is assigned a base Power Point value that is either 1 or a positive multiple of 5, up to 40. In general, weaker moves learned at lower levels will have higher PP, while more powerful moves or moves learned at higher levels will have lower PP. PP can be fully restored by healing one's Pokémon at aPokémon Center, and effectively act as a method to encourage players to heal often even if they take little or nodamage.

When a move is learned, including through methods such as usingTMs orHMs, its PP will automatically be set to the base PP value, allowing it to be used immediately. However, inGeneration V only, when a move is replaced with a TM or HM move, the new move's remaining PP will be set to the remaining PP of the replaced move (unless the new move's base PP is lower). This was to prevent TMs and HMs from being a method to repeatedly replenish PP at no cost, as TMs were first made reusable in that generation. InGeneration VI, this behavior was reverted, and using a TM or HM to overwrite a move will set the newly learned move to its usual base PP though TMs and HMs are still reusable.

When the PP of a move has been depleted, the Pokémon will no longer be able to use that move until PP is restored. When all of a Pokémon's moves' PP have been depleted, ordering it to attack will result in the Pokémon usingStruggle, a move that deals great damage to itself and minimal damage to the opponent.

All moves that target a Pokémon withPressure use an additional PP, causing them to deplete their PP faster. A move that has only 1 PP remaining will execute as normal in these situations, i.e. the PP count will not become negative. Moves that do not target the Pokémon with Pressure, such asstatus moves which target the user, deplete as normal. Pressure will also not activate if the Pokémon with Pressure targets itself.

A move that can be used outside of battle, such asDig or one of the manyHM moves, will be able to be used outside of battle regardless of its PP on the field, and will not subtract PP for its overworld uses.

Upon usingTransform, all copied moves will have 5 PP (unless the maximum PP is less than 5, in which case the PP will be that lower maximum).

Some moves, especially theShadow moves ofPokémon Colosseum andXD, have no PP value, giving them effectively infinite PP.

Some opponents have unlimited PP for all their moves:

• InGeneration I, all AI trainers and wild Pokémon
• InGeneration VIII, the bosses of allMax Raid Battles
• InGeneration IX, the bosses of allTera Raid Battles, as well as Team Star'sStarmobiles, and the battle againstStellar FormTerapagos in the Area Zero Underdepths

The PP mechanic is absent inPokémon Legends: Z-A. Moves in that game havecooldowns instead.

Increasing PP

All moves, except those which have a base PP of 1, can have their usability increased using aPP Up orPP Max. PP Ups boost the move's PP by 20% of the original value per PP Up, and can be used up to three times on the same move. PP Maxes, introduced in Generation III, cause a move's PP to increase to the maximum value equivalent to three PP Ups, 60% more than the base value (so the PP Max will be worth less than its full value if it's used on a move that already had one or two PP Ups). The PP Up effects of the move are lost if it is forgotten.

Restoration

PP can be restored using several items. AnEther restores 10 PP for one move, aMax Ether fully restores PP for one move, anElixir restores 10 PP for all of a Pokémon's moves, and aMax Elixir fully restores PP for all of a Pokémon's moves. Additionally, theLeppa Berry restores 10 PP for one move and can be used as a held item after the PP of any move has run out. InGeneration II,Sacred Ash fully restores the PP of all Pokémon in the party, while the Leppa Berry's predecessor,MysteryBerry, restores only 5 PP.

Healing at aPokémon Center (or any similar party-healing service) fully restores the PP of all party Pokémon's moves; fromGeneration II throughVII, any Pokémon deposited in the PC has the PP of all of its moves fully restored.

If a Pokémon usesLunar Dance, the next Pokémon sent in to replace it will have its PP fully restored.

Base value alteration

InGenerationsI andII, the maximum PP of a move that began at 40 PP would be 61, likely due to a lack of data space; this is fixed fromGeneration III onward, increasing the maximum to its 'proper' value of 64.

Between generations, the base PP of several moves, such asRecover andGiga Drain, was altered. If PP Ups had been used on one of these moves in a previous, this is carried over to later Generation, with the PP Ups now boosting based on the new value, rather than the old. For example, a Pokémon with Giga Drain with 2 PP Ups used on it in Generation III, having 7 PP for that move, would have 14 PP when transferred to Generation IV.

Wild Pokémon

InGeneration I, since all AI opponents do not use up any PP,wild Pokémon are always caught with full PP for all of their moves.

FromGeneration II onwards, wild Pokémon have their PP deducted normally, according to the moves used in battle; the deducted PP value remains even after the wild Pokémon is caught. However, inGeneration II, if a wild Pokémon successfully usesTransform and is caught by the player, that Pokémon will have Transform with full PP (10 out of 10).

Glitches

Main article:List of battle glitches in Generation I → Struggle bypassing

In Generation I, there is a glitch that allows a Pokémon to use a move even if it has 0 PP. If a move is used while it has 0 PP in these games, the Pokémon's PP underflows to 63.

List of moves and Abilities affecting PP

PP can be affected by the following moves and Abilities.

Moves

Abilities

Quotes

PP loss fromSpite orEerie Spell

• Gen II:<Pokémon>'s <move> was reduced by <#>!
• Gen III:Reduced <Pokémon>'s <move> by <#>!
• Gen IV–VIII:It reduced the PP of <Pokémon>'s <move> by <#>!
• Gen IX:<Pokémon> lost <#> PP from <move>!

In the spin-off games

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series

Moves in the Mystery Dungeon games typically have fewer maximum PP than in the core series. They are also not always multiples of 5.

Starting inPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, PP is represented by a green gauge in game. The PP of a move can be increased by increasing the move's rank through repeated use or items. Many moves can can reach a maximum of 50 PP, or 30 or 40 inPokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, though some moves such asFalse Swipe can reach 99.

In animation

Unlike other stats, PP has not been directly referenced in theanimated series.

Pokémon the Series

Despite PP never being mentioned inPokémon the Series, many Pokémon have been seen to have trouble using a specific move repeatedly, such asAsh's Pikachu's increasing weakness usingThunderbolt onMewtwo'sPoké Balls as they chased him down inMewtwo Strikes Back.

Additionally, Pokémon get visibly exhausted over the course of a battle, even if they don't take any hits. In thePokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl episodePromoting Healthy Tangrowth!,Brock explicitly states that there is a limit to how many timesAsh's Grotle would be able to useSynthesis.

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

While PP is almost never mentioned by name inPokémon Adventures, the effect of losing all PP of a move has been displayed a number of times.

Gold, Silver & Crystal arc

InMagnificent Magnemite,Morty was able to stopLt. Surge'sElectabuzz from usingThunder by having hisGastly useSpite on him.Erika andBrock acknowledged the fact that Thunder is a powerful move that takes a lot out of the Pokémon using it, thus limiting the number of times it can be used within a certain period of time.

Ruby & Sapphire arc

InThe Beginning of the End with Kyogre & Groudon XII,Flannery managed to preventShelly'sLudicolo from usingNature Power by having herVulpix useGrudge before it was defeated.

FireRed & LeafGreen arc

InDon't Doubt Deoxys,Red'sPikachu,Pika, became unable to use Thunder while battling aDeoxys known asOrganism No. 2, due to theDNA Pokémon'sPressureAbility.

Emerald arc

InChipping Away at Regirock, awildMisdreavus renderedEmerald's borrowedShedinja unable to useShadow Ball during hisBattle Pyramid challenge by reducing its PP to zero with Grudge. Emerald later used anEther on Shedinja to restore it.

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!

InWin with Teamwork!!,Hareta was able to makeGardenia'sRoserade run out of power forMagical Leaf faster than usual thanks to hisMisdreavus'sSpite.

Trivia

• As shown in severalCapsule Monsters sketches, Pokémon were originally planned to have a stat called TP, presumably short forTechnique Points, with each move requiring a certain amount of TP to use.

In other languages

This game mechanic article is part ofProject Games, aBulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on thePokémon games.

• Game mechanics