For most combat instructions, the number listed means that it will teach you up to that number of moves, e.g. 3x sideswipe will teach you up to 3x sideswipe
But If you have 5x punch, and make a punch instruction, it will say 3x punch.. which teaches you up to 5x punch.. all because you start the game with 2 punches.
I get the logic. 3x punch means it will *discover* up to 3 punches for you, on top of the 2 you already had. But this format causes nothing but confusion and has no benefit to the game. It should say 5x punch.