Can You Improve a Pokémon‘s Appraisal?
No, there is no direct way to improve an existing Pokémon‘s appraisal. A Pokémon‘s appraisal is permanently determined by its Individual Values (IVs), which are randomly generated when you first obtain the Pokémon. While you have no control over a Pokémon‘s original IVs, there are a few clever tricks that can potentially help you obtain a Pokémon with a superior appraisal:
Trading Pokémon Rerolls IVs
When you trade a Pokémon, its IVs are rerolled randomly within a particular distribution. For example, normal trades have approximately a:
- 6.7% chance of becoming lucky (IV floor 12/12/12)
- 5.8% chance of 0-5 IVs
- 10.4% chance of 6-10 IVs
- 10.4% chance of 11-15 IVs
- 67.7% chance of becoming lucky (IV floor 12/12/12)
As you can see, trading gives you a chance of scoring better IVs to improve appraisal. But there‘s also a risk they will worsen. Certain Pokémon like legendaries have lower chances for decreased IVs after trading.
As a gaming content creator, I recommend trading duplicate Pokémon that you were going to transfer anyway. This lets you reroll IVs without sacrificing anything. Do plenty of trades with friends to increase your odds!
Purifying Boosts All IVs By 2
When you purify a Shadow Pokémon, it receives a +2 bonus to each of its IV stats.
For example, here‘s how a 13/14/13 Shadow Dratini‘s appraisal would improve after purification:
| Stat | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | 13 | 15 |
| Defense | 14 | 16 |
| Stamina | 13 | 15 |
If the original IV totals are high enough (at least 13 per stat), purification can turn a "decent" appraisal into a "strong" or even perfect one!
I‘ve found the best Shadow Pokémon to purify are those with IV stat totals in the mid-high 30s. This gives you the best shot at a perfect appraisal after the +2 boosts.
Raid & Egg Exclusive IV Floors
Legendary and egg-exclusive Pokémon have an IV floor of 10/10/10. This means every raid or egg hatch will be at least "decent" appraisal.
Building a strong raiding and hatching team as a dedicated content creator gives you improved chances for even better appraisals over time. I estimate roughly:
- 1 in 130 chance for perfect legendary
- 1 in 100 chance for perfect regional/baby Pokémon
While still rare, the IV guarantee makes these encounters the most reliable way to luck into a 100%. Personally raiding/hatching is my preferred strategy!
Lucky Trades Have An IV Floor of 12/12/12
Lucky Pokémon rolls have a minimum IV floor of 12 across all three stats. This matches the threshold for "Strong" appraisal. Lucky trading can thus help guarantee better IVs.
I estimate about 1 in 20-30 trades with Best Friends trigger lucky status. Trading older Pokémon from 2016 greatly boosts your luck potential as well.
For the best chances, make sure to reroll IVs only with lucky friends. Their every trade is guaranteed lucky! It takes some prep but is the most surefire path to better appraised Pokémon in my experience.
While you cannot directly improve a Pokémon‘s existing appraisal, trading strategies and purification offer chances to obtain an improved one. Raiding/hatching also provides IV floors that guarantee a decent rating at the minimum threshold.
My top tips are to trade duplicates, raid frequently, purify high IV Shadow Pokémon, and lucky trade with best friends for the odds of scoring a perfect IV/appraisal Pokémon.
I hope these insights help you better understand ways to get better appraised Pokémon. Let me know if you have any other questions!
