So the Pokémon GO IV Appraisal update can be a bit confusing. It took me some time and research to really understand how it works. To make things easier for you guys, I compiled a guide to shed some light on this topic below.
What are IVs?
All Pokémon you catch or hatch have different IVs(Individual Values). Pokémon in Pokémon GO have 3 stats: HP, ATTACK and Defense. By random you are given a value for all three ranging from 0-15 for a total of 45 points. The higher the IVs the higher the CP(Combat Power) basically.
Why IVs are important?
Once you hit max trainer level 40, your Pokémon CP will peak based on your IVs. It will cost you candies and stardust to power up. Why waste your hard-earned candies and dust on Pokémon with poor IVs when you can save them for one with decent to perfect ones.
What are the chances of getting a PERFECT IV Pokémon?
I’ve tried to find information on this on the web but most say its 2% and chances are increased if it is hatched from an egg. I can’t really confirm or deny this, but it feels about right. Until Niantic Labs releases information on this we will leave it at that.
How do you Appraise Pokémon?
STEP 1
Depending on what Team you chose, your GYM Leader will give you a breakdown on how good you Pokémon is. Each Team and leader will give you different responses. In my case I am Team Valor and my Gym Leader is Candela.
First one determines the Pokémon’s total IVs.
[wpsm_comparison_table id=”1″ class=””]
Generally you want to shoot for the phrase that tells you that your Pokémon is in the top-tier(82.2-100% PERFECT). In my case it looks like it does.
Next step is to go on PokeAssistant.com’s IV Calculator and put in your Pokémon, CP, HP, Stardust cost to power up and if you powered it up before(yes/no). Don’t hit calculate yet! We have a few more steps.
STEP 2
Go back to your Pokémon GO app and tap to proceed. The Gym Leader will tell you what your best stats are next. Looks like in my case its ATTACK and DEFENSE.
And your Gym Leader will give you a clue on how high those stats really are. These the phrases they use.
[wpsm_comparison_table id=”2″ class=””]
Looks like mine are PERFECT IVs! AWESOME!
Step 3
Go back to PokeAssistant Calculator and tick both Att and Def. This will just minimize the possible combinations for you.
Hit “Calculate to view the possible IV combinations that Pokémon has.
Just remember that my Vaporeon stats that you see above might not be the same as yours. Each Pokémon is different remember! So for this case we have 5 possible combinations and it looks like that our maximum Pokémon IV is 88.9 with the lowest of 55.6%.
So here is where you deduction skills kick in. We know by the first step that we have a top-tier Pokémon that is 82.2 – 100% IV Pokémon. By that alone we can conclude that it’s the first one (Level 25.5 – Attack 15 – Defense 15 – Stamina(HP) – 88.9%) due to that 88.9%. Great! But sometimes you have a lot more possibilities and you have to use step 2’s data to find a clearer answer.
Via step 2 we found that our Attack and Defense were perfect right? Take a look at the first one again(Attack 15 – Defense 15). That makes it even more concrete that we have the right one!
Now you can brag about that 100% IV Dratini you found that other day! Just watch out that you don’t transfer it! Haha.
I’d like to see what your favorite Pokémon’s IVs are using this method! Post a link in the comments section and what IVs it has!
-Dee
Here is my Perfect Goldeen I just discovered!
