Appraising and Evaluating Your Team

     Niantic Labs created this Appraisal feature to find out approximate CP and IV values within Pokémon Go so players don't need to leave the game to open a third-party app.  Personally, I think this is fantastic!  Each Team Leader will have their own set of phrases, which fall into four categories: Great, Good, Decent, and Poor. 

     Appraisals tell you which of its HP, Attack, and Defense stat the Pokémon performs well...of four categories. Remember that IVs each rank out of 15. Although a Pokémon could rank 'Great' overall, it could then suffer in one of the three stats or move sets that make a Pokémon IV% drop.

     The Appraisal is a very handy way to know at a glance whether you have a 'Great' Pokémon on your hands.  Once you learn the Appraisal for your team, you'll notice these phrases are specific enough to give you a good feel for the Pokémon's strengths.  If it is vague to you, then you should do more research before investing your Stardust and Candy.  Remember, the overall 'Great' phrase means it's between 82% and 100% of its potential!

     Generally, most Trainers evolve the high-IV Pokémon before spending Stardust to Power Up and increase its Level.  EACH time a Pokémon evolves its move set IS randomized, although IVs stay the same.  Consider that you may have a perfect Snorlax, but it is possibly for it to have crappy move sets that spoil all the time and work you put into it.

Reformulate Your Game Strategy

Don't worry about Combat Power (CP).  Don't worry about only catching what you consider uninteresting Pokémon.  Don't worry those players who live near Poké Stops and always have more resources than you.  Take your time playing and read up on game strategies.  It takes skill and lots of preparation to compete.  Become familiar with the different types of Pokémon and learn what their strengths and weaknesses are.  Assimilate move sets combinations and discover how they make your Pokémon special.  Combine your knowledge with a Pokémon that has fair CP and good Individual Values (IVs) to win in gyms.  Don't worry so much about losing because you need team effort to hold these gyms.  

Think about the things you gain from the game itself.  Find your joy in playing!  You're out more, exercising, exploring new places, and meeting new people!  Pokémon GO (PoGO) is like Life...and your perspective on how to approach it affect outcomes.  Robert H. Schuler noted, "Problems are not stop signs, they're guidelines."

In the real Pokémon anime, Ash Ketchum and all the other Pokémon Trainers, never caught them all.  In all honesty, the creators of the game did not intend for us to do so either, especially not within the first year.  It is like anything and everything else, we don't have to keep winning.  Keep the fun in the game and don't stop learning.