What even is a Pokémon Go CP calculator or evolution calculator, and why would you ever need it? To be quite honest, it’s a complicated system of guesswork and estimation. You use a CP calculator to work out – approximately – how strong your Pokémon will be when you evolve it. We’ll go into the details below, but that’s all you need to know to get started.
However long you’ve been playing Pokémon Go, you’ll have a variety of Pokémon all sitting with different CPs, but even then you might not know exactly what a Pokémon Go CP calculator is. Personally, I’ve got everything from a 4,138CP Mewtwo to a 10CP Pikachu wearing an adorable Mimikyu costume. We won’t go into how meta it is that Pikachu is wearing a costume of a Pokémon that’s disguised as a Pikachu, but my point is that Mewtwo is clearly a lot stronger than this electric mouse, no matter how cute it is.
But, how does the Pokémon Go CP & evolution calculator work?
Pokémon Go evolution CP calculator
This calculates what a Pokémon’s CP will be when you evolve it. So, say you’ve got a 600CP Eevee that you want to evolve into an Umbreon (our Pokémon Go Eevee evolution guide can help you with that), you’d just pop that information into a calculator and it’ll tell you that Umbreon will have about 1,247CP when you evolve it.
The actual algorithm for evolving Pokémon depends on a few other factors, so most good Pokémon Go CP calculators also give you a probable range which your Pokémon should sit within. In this example, Umbreon should end up somewhere between 1,205 and 1,282CP.
However, there are also CP calculators that allow you to accurately test Pokémon’s statistics at certain levels. You’ll need a bit more information to work this calculator, but it’s not too difficult to find. Here’s what you need:
- Your Pokémon’s level
- Your Pokémon’s IVs
For this example, I’ll use Kangaskhan – a Pokémon that doesn’t evolve.
- Click on the button with three lines in the bottom right corner, and select ‘Appraise’ to see your Pokémon’s IVs. These are shown as three bars, each of which represents a statistic. If it reaches the right-hand side and is red, that means that the stat is a perfect 15. If the whole bar is grey, that means it’s a 0. The three sections on each bar represent five points in each stat which makes it easier to count.
- My Kangaskhan has 13 attack, 11 defense, and 12 HP.
- Now, to find your level you can adjust the level section on your CP calculator until the CP shown matches that of your Pokémon. It’s worth remembering that any Pokémon hatched from an egg are level 20, and levels increase in increments of 0.5 at a time, to a maximum of 40.
- I had powered up Kangaskhan once since hatching her from an egg, so I know she’s level 20.5, but I recommend using the trial and error method until your CP matches that which the calculator shows.
- Then, you can see all your stats. In this instance, Kangaskhan has 148 HP, 117 attack, 106 defense, and 148 stamina. This could come in handy if you want to work out how many hits your Pokémon can take in a battle or a raid, for example.
Why do I need a Pokémon Go CP calculator?
The clearest example of when you might need a Pokémon Go CP calculator is if you’re playing the PvP mode, Go Battle League. To reuse our example from above, Umbreon is a perfect fit for Great League teams, so you want to be sure that evolving your Eevee wouldn’t take it over 1,500CP. My 600CP Eevee will be fine, clocking in at 1,247CP, which I can then power up as close to 1,500 as possible.
Ultra League has another CP limit, but the cap is higher at 2,500CP. Master League has no limit to CP, but you might want to check how powerful your Pokémon will be before evolving it anyway.
A word of caution in Go Battle League: maximum IVs are not always the ideal option in Great League and Ultra League. There’s complicated logic behind this, but you can see exactly what’s what in our guide to the best Pokémon in Pokémon Go. We also have guides to the best electric Pokémon, bug Pokémon, grass Pokémon, fire Pokémon, and much more.
Pokémon Go purify calculator
There’s no specific Pokémon Go purify calculator – used to understand what your Pokémon’s CP will look like after you purify it from a Shadow form – but there is a trick you can use.
Using a CP calculator like the one we used earlier for Kangaskhan, follow these steps:
- Add 2 to each of your IVs and input them
- Set your Pokémon’s level to 25
- Profit
Purifying a Shadow Pokémon adds two to each of your IVs (to a maximum of 15) and improves your Pokémon’s level to 25. So, adding this information to your Pokémon’s current stats will give you its new CP.
Which are the best Pokémon Go CP calculators?
As such, we’ve selected a few of our favorites that are tried and tested. Don’t forget: the target CP is an estimation, especially in the evolution calculators, so be aware of the predicted CP range if your Pokémon is toeing the line.
- GameInfo evolution CP calculator and CP calculator:
- This is our favorite overall CP calculator – and they’ve got both options
- This evolution calculator is particularly useful as it gives you an estimate, a predicted range, and a maximum range if you want to play your evolutions extra safe
- Poké Assistant:
- While it only gives you one predicted range, we’ve found it as accurate as GameInfo
Pokémon Go IV calculator
Luckily you don’t need a Pokémon Go IV calculator anymore, as you can check your IVs in-game. Check that button in the bottom right corner of your screen when you’ve selected a Pokémon, and click ‘Appraise’ to get your IVs.
So there you have it, everything you need to know about the best Pokémon Go CP calculator you can find. Keep up to date with all the latest Pokémon Go events right here on Pocket Tactics – and we’d especially recommend keeping on top of all the latest Pokémon Go promo codes. After all, everyone loves a freebie, right?