Move/Core Series/Characteristics of Moves

A Pokémon can only know four moves at a time, which are drawn from a pool of 728 total moves. However, no single Pokémon has access to each move; all Pokémon have a given movelist with a limited amount of moves that relate to the type and concept of the species. The amount of moves in each movelist varies between species: some Pokémon, such as and, only have one move to learn, while  can learn 179 moves as of Generation VI, and  can possess almost any move due to. Sometimes, Pokémon's movelists vary between evolutionary relatives. This often is tied to a secondary type gained or lost on evolution, but can also provide incentive to prevent a Pokémon's evolution to a higher stage. Most trios and duos have similar movelists.

Pokémon are limited in the way that they may use their moves in battle. The number of times they can use each move is restricted by the move's Power Points. Power Points vary from move to move, but typically stronger moves have fewer Power Points than weaker moves. The amount of Power Points for each move may be altered by items such as. The only move that is not affected by Power Points is.

The strength of a move is measured by its power, and other factors such as accuracy affect whether it does damage or not. Some moves have additional effects that cause status conditions on the target, and some do no damage at all. Moves that do not explicitly cause harm to their target are known as status moves; the remaining moves are divided into physical and special moves depending on the individual move's characteristics; the category of the move determines whether the move's power relies on the or  stat. It is important to note that prior to Generation IV, the move's category was dependent on the move's type, rather than a distinct variable. Most moves, but some moves instead can target the user, more than one Pokémon, or non-adjacent Pokémon.