What Pokémon GO Appraisal Tells You About IVs

Pokémon GO's Appraise feature shows the individual values (IVs) for Attack, Defense, and HP. Each stat ranges from 0 to 15, and the star badge summarizes the total. Appraisal helps compare two Pokémon of the same species, but it does not tell you whether the moveset, level, or PvP stat spread is ideal.

How to open Appraise

1. Tap the Poké Ball menu from the map.
2. Open Pokémon.
3. Select the individual Pokémon you want to inspect.
4. Open the detail-page menu.
5. Tap Appraise.

Your team leader presents the appraisal: Spark for Team Instinct (yellow), Blanche for Team Mystic (blue), or Candela for Team Valor (red). The underlying stat information is the same regardless of team.

Read the three stat bars

The appraisal displays separate bars for:

• Attack: the Pokémon's individual Attack bonus;
• Defense: the individual Defense bonus;
• HP: the individual Stamina/HP bonus.

Each bar is divided into segments. A completely filled bar equals 15 IV points for that stat. The maximum combined score is therefore 45.

What the stars mean

The badge ranks the combined IV total from zero to three stars. A special 4-star appraisal indicates a perfect 15/15/15 Pokémon. Storage searches such as 0*, 1*, 2*, 3*, and 4* help sort these groups quickly.

Stars are a convenient summary, but two 3-star Pokémon can have different Attack, Defense, and HP distributions. Inspect the actual bars when the exact spread matters.

What appraisal does not show

Appraisal does not directly answer several important questions:

• Does the Pokémon have the best current moves for raids or PvP?
• Is its level high enough to use without a large Stardust investment?
• Will powering it up exceed a Great League or Ultra League CP cap?
• Is that IV spread ranked well for a specific capped league?
• Is the species itself useful in the intended matchup?

A perfect appraisal is not automatically the best Trainer Battle candidate. In capped leagues, lower Attack with higher Defense and HP can sometimes fit more total stats below the CP limit.

IVs do not change through power-ups or evolution

Powering up raises level, CP, and usually HP. Evolution changes the species and recalculates the displayed CP from the evolved form's stats. The underlying Attack, Defense, and HP IVs remain attached to that individual Pokémon.

Trading is different: a trade rerolls IVs within limits affected by the trade conditions and friendship level. Do not trade a perfect or otherwise important appraisal expecting it to remain unchanged.

The old text-based appraisal system

Earlier Pokémon GO versions used team-specific phrases to describe broad IV ranges. The screenshots and dialogue in the original article came from that older interface. The current bar display is more direct, so there is no need to translate phrases such as “a wonder” or “can battle with the best of them” into a percentage.

Use appraisal in a practical decision

1. Identify the intended role and battle format.
2. Check the species, form, and moves.
3. Read the three IV bars rather than only the stars.
4. Review CP, level, and the cost to reach the target.
5. For capped PvP, compare the spread with a current ranking tool.
6. Favorite or tag the Pokémon before closing the screen.

Appraisal is best treated as one reliable piece of information. Combine it with moves, level, cost, availability, and the format you actually play before evolving, powering up, transferring, or trading a Pokémon.