Moves

Moves are the actions Pokémon use in battle. Each move has a type, damage class (Physical, Special, or Status), base power, accuracy, and PP (power points). The /move/ endpoint exposes all of this, plus effect descriptions, contest metadata, and game-version history.

There are over 900 moves across all generations.

Endpoints

Method	Path	Description
GET	`/move/`	List all moves (paginated)
GET	`/move/{name}`	Get a move by name
GET	`/move/{id}`	Get a move by ID

Example request

curl https://pokeapi.co/api/v2/move/thunderbolt

const res = await fetch('https://pokeapi.co/api/v2/move/thunderbolt');
const thunderbolt = await res.json();

Example response

{
  "id": 85,
  "name": "thunderbolt",
  "accuracy": 100,
  "effect_chance": 10,
  "pp": 15,
  "priority": 0,
  "power": 90,
  "type": { "name": "electric", "url": "https://pokeapi.co/api/v2/type/13/" },
  "damage_class": { "name": "special", "url": "https://pokeapi.co/api/v2/move-damage-class/3/" },
  "effect_entries": [
    {
      "effect": "Inflicts regular damage. Has a $effect_chance% chance to paralyze the target.",
      "short_effect": "Has a $effect_chance% chance to paralyze the target.",
      "language": { "name": "en", "url": "..." }
    }
  ],
  "flavor_text_entries": [
    {
      "flavor_text": "A strong electric blast is loosed at the target. It may also leave the target with paralysis.",
      "language": { "name": "en", "url": "..." },
      "version_group": { "name": "sword-shield", "url": "..." }
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "ailment": { "name": "paralysis", "url": "..." },
    "ailment_chance": 10,
    "category": { "name": "damage+ailment", "url": "..." },
    "crit_rate": 0,
    "drain": 0,
    "flinch_chance": 0,
    "healing": 0,
    "max_hits": null,
    "max_turns": null,
    "min_hits": null,
    "min_turns": null,
    "stat_chance": 0
  },
  "names": [
    { "name": "Thunderbolt", "language": { "name": "en", "url": "..." } }
  ]
}

Key fields

powerinteger | nullrequired

Base power of the move. null for status moves that deal no damage.

accuracyinteger | nullrequired

Percentage chance to hit (1–100). null for moves that never miss (Swift, Aerial Ace).

ppintegerrequired

Base PP (power points) — the number of times the move can be used before needing to be restored at a Pokémon Center.

priorityintegerrequired

Turn order modifier. +1 moves (Quick Attack) go before 0. -6 moves (Trick Room effects) go last. Most moves are 0.

typeNamedAPIResourcerequired

The move's type. Determines damage multipliers against defending types.

damage_classNamedAPIResourcerequired

One of physical, special, or status. Physical uses Attack/Defense stats; Special uses Sp.Atk/Sp.Def.

effect_entriesVerboseEffect[]required

Human-readable effect description. $effect_chance is a template placeholder — substitute with the effect_chance field.

metaMoveMetaDatarequired

Structured metadata: ailment, drain, healing, crit rate, hit/turn ranges.

Damage classes

Uses the attacker's Attack stat and the defender's Defense stat. Examples: Tackle, Earthquake, Close Combat.

Rendering the effect description

The effect string uses $effect_chance as a template token. Replace it before displaying:

function formatEffect(move) {
  return move.effect_entries
    .find(e => e.language.name === 'en')
    ?.effect
    .replace(/\$effect_chance/g, move.effect_chance ?? '?');
}
 
console.log(formatEffect(thunderbolt));
// → "Inflicts regular damage. Has a 10% chance to paralyze the target."