wobblegong

So a Feature™ of Pokemon Go is that I routinely end up with 17 duplicates of a pokemon I really only need one or two of. I have some interest in winnowing the pile based on their stats: keep the ones with good IVs, toss the rest. But while it's possible to calculate IVs, it requires third-party websites or apps, and I just want to know which are the worst 70% of my whatevers without deep-diving their stats.

Conveniently, the game includes an Appraise feature! Even more conveniently, the "answers" strike a nice balance of informative vs efficient, with only four possibilities each for two dimensions. So from best to worst I assigned the answers S-grade, A-grade, B-grade and X-grade. After using Appraise I set the pokemon's nickname to two letters: "sa" would indicate the first "answer" was S-grade and the second was A-grade. "xb" would indicate the first "answer" was X-grade and the second was B-grade. And so on.

It makes it very easy to clean up my pokemon from the list view when I can approximate their IVs at a glance. And if I'm tracking something else (desired gender, moveset, etc) I have plenty of nickname space to note that down too. :) Now I just have to Appraise and clean up... 400 pokemon. *wheeze*

When you use Appraise your chosen team's leader says a few things about the pokemon. These messages don't announce the IVs directly but can be translated into very useful ballparks. The messages go like this:

Team leader greets you.
First message = ballparks the pokemon's total sum of all three IVs relative the theoretical maximum of 45 (15 x 3).
Team leader names 1-3 stats. These are it's highest stat; if multiple are named, they are tied for highest.
Next message = ballparks the pokemon's highest stat.
Optional fluff message if the pokemon is particularly large or small.
Team leader says goodbye.

This might sound complicated, but the two useful messages– IV total & highest stat– only have four possibilities each and, even better, the possibilities are weighted to make them very informative. For purposes of quickly sorting pokemon into "keep or transfer" piles it's easy to memorize which messages are better/worse and make a note in the pokemon's nickname.

As an example: I'm team Valor and I appraise a Misdreavus. My leader's first useful message is "Overall, your Misdreavus is a decent Pokemon." which means its total IV sum is between 66.7 to 80% of the maximum possible. The second useful message is "Its stats indicate that in battle, it'll get the job done." which means its single highest IV is between 8 and 12. (For purposes of quickly evaluating who gets transferred, I don't care which stat is the best, just how high it is.) So I nickname this Misdreavus "bb" to indicate it has (what I refer to as) grade B IV %s and grade B top IV.

SS-appraised pokemon are fantastic and probably worth using an IV checker on; S/A/B-mix can be held on to if I want. Anything with an X-rank appraisal is getting removed unless it's my only or has astronomical CP.

The messages for the IV total ballparks are as follows:

Mystic	Valor	Instinct	IV %	Label
Overall, your Pokemon is a wonder! What a breathtaking Pokemon!	Overall, your Pokemon simple amazes me. It can accomplish anything!	Overall, your Pokemon looks like it can really battle with the best of them!	100%-82.2%	S
Overall, your Pokemon has certainly caught my attention.	Overall, your Pokemon is a strong Pokemon. You should be proud!	Overall, your Pokemon is really strong!	80%-66.7%	A
Overall, your Pokemon is above average.	Overall, your Pokemon is a decent Pokemon.	Overall, your Pokemon is pretty decent!	64.4%-51.1%	B
Overall, your Pokemon is not likely to make much headway in battle.	Overall, your Pokemon may not be great in battle, but I still like it!	Overall, your Pokemon has room for improvement as far as battling goes.	48.9%-0%	X

And then the messages for the top IV(s) are as follows:

Mystic	Valor	Instinct	Top IV	Label
Its stats exceed my calculations. It's incredible!	I'm blown away by its stats. WOW!	Its stats are the best I've ever seen! No doubt about it!	15	S
I am certainly impressed by its stats, I must say.	It's got excellent stats! How exciting!	Its stats are really strong! Impressive.	14-13	A
Its stats are noticeably trending to the positive.	Its stats indicate that in battle, it'll get the job done.	It's definitely got some good stats. Definitely!	12-8	B
Its stats are not out of the norm, in my opinion.	Its stats don't point to greatness in battle.	Its stats are all right, but kinda basic, as far as I can see.	7-0	X