CP vs. IVs in Pokémon GO: what should you keep?

Read the appraisal separately

Open a Pokémon’s menu and select Appraise. The team leader shows the individual stat bars and an overall star rating. Powering up or evolving does not normally improve those underlying appraisal values; purification has its own rules.

Two Pokémon of the same species can therefore have different appraisals even if the higher-CP one is immediately more useful. Level and species stats contribute to what CP you see.

Decide which battle you are building for

Raids reward useful damage and appropriate matchups. CP-limited Trainer Battle formats add another set of tradeoffs. A perfect appraisal is not an automatic recommendation for every league or role.

Moves matter too. A highly appraised Pokémon with unsuitable attacks can perform worse for a particular task than a less perfect one with the right move set.

Keep options before spending

Use favorites and tags to preserve promising candidates. Compare the resources needed to make each one useful rather than upgrading the first three-star catch automatically.

For an early collection, a naturally stronger catch can be a practical temporary attacker. That does not require committing all your Stardust to it. Save the expensive decision for a defined raid or league goal.

A useful comparison checklist

Check species and form, moves, current CP, appraisal, intended format and upgrade cost. If you cannot yet name the job you want it to do, keeping it without investing is a reasonable decision.

This guide explains the distinction rather than assigning a universal “keep anything above this percentage” rule. A collection, a raid roster and a CP-capped team need different sorting criteria.