[Quiet Man Cometh]

Managed to hold a gym for 20 hours, before raiders chased me off. Now there's a Garados parked there and lightning is my weakest element. Got enough coins to expand my backpack and still have 100 coins left over.

Does anyone know if the appraisals on the pokemon reflect much? Like is a pokemon that has room for improvement that much weaker than a pokemon that can "battle with the best of them?" Thinking when it comes to evolution. I often find the pokemon that appraise better have a slightly lower CP than others I've got. I'm wondering how much it matters.