The Pokedex section has a wealth of information on each of the 649 Pokemon creatures from the entire game series. On the main list pages you can see the various stats of each pokemon. Click a Pokemon's name to see a detailed page with Pokedex data, descriptions from previous games, sprites, evolutions, moves and more!
Every pokemon creature has an array of stats. HP (Hit Points) is a pokemon's life force. If your pokemon's HP hits zero, it faints and is no longer usable in battle (it can still use Hidden Machines, though). The Speed stat decides which pokemon will make the first move in battle. This stat can be critical in long battles.
Attack and Special Attack measure the strength of moves used by your pokemon; the higher this is, the more damage you will do to opponents. Attack correspnds to moves in the Physical category, while Special Attack corresponds to Special moves.
Similarly, Defense and Special Defense measure the ability to take attacks from other pokemon; the higher the stat is, the fewer Hit Points will be lost when attacked. Defense correspnds to moves in the Physical category, while Special Defense corresponds to Special moves.
Note: prior to Diamond/Pearl, the Physical and Special categories related to Pokemon types, not the individual moves. See the attack-dex for full information.