Battling in Pokemon GO hasn’t required much in terms of tactics. Players do not fight against wild Pokemon before catching them. If they want, they can take on gyms alone or in groups. They can even continue fighting until they’ve exhausted every revive and potion in their backpacks. Regardless, the Pokemon GO team posted a Facebook status that hints toward an interesting new feature.

Maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps the focus is on “Minor bot fixes.”

The latest update implements a Pokemon Appraisal system. Each team leader will evaluate a player’s Pokemon in both attack and defense capabilities. That sounds an awful lot like reading IV (Individual Values). Some third party sites have offered the same thing (before Niantic started shutting them down). But the real question here is why? Why officially add in IV readings?

Trainer battles. That’s why. The only reason hardcore Pokemon trainers ever payed attention to IV in previous games was to have an edge against other human opponents. It can’t just be for gyms, either. There’s no real risk of fighting a gym (see tactic: just keep using revives and potions). The only reason this would come out now is if trainer battles are in the near future. At least, that’s where I’d put my money.