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I have some Pokemon with high CPs that were also a challenge to catch (I had to use razz berries with Great Balls numerous times). This led me to think they were strong Pokemon, but when I calculated their IVs, they were on the low end, maybe 60% and lower.

I'm trying to understand what CPs really mean/indicate.

For instance, let's say I have two Venonats; one has a CP of 600, and the other has 200. The 200 CP Venonat has roughly 20% higher IVs than the other. I'm not sure which to evolve. I know that HP is higher with higher CP, but I have plenty of stardust and candies to build up the 200 Venonat. So in this case I wonder if the 600 Venonat is not worth evolving given its low IVs...

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    What you added belongs in a comment, not as an edit to your question. Furthermore, what I edited simply made the question more readable. My intent was not to redefine your question. I saw the Venonat scenario as an example in both the question and my answer, which I think you should look at.
    – Vemonus
    Commented Oct 19, 2016 at 20:08
  • Also, look at this question.
    – Vemonus
    Commented Oct 19, 2016 at 20:15

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Look at where the white dots on the semi-circle above the Venonat are. The 600 CP Venonat definitely has a lot more of the semi-circle filled in than the 200 CP Venonat. This is because that semi-circle represents what level your Pokémon are. A higher level Pokémon will have higher CP than a much lower level Pokémon with higher IVs.

CP stands for Combat Power. CP is a number calculated based on a Pokémon's IVs, level, and species. That is to say, a Pidgey will never match the CP potential of a Dragonite, regardless of level or IVs, simply due to the difference in species.

Based on how your question is worded, I believe you are using CP to define both CP and level. The level is shown on the arc above the Pokémon.

In the main series, a high level Pokémon with terrible IVs could easily overcome a much lower level Pokémon, regardless of typing or abilities, just due to being higher level. The same logic applies in Pokémon Go. If your two Venonat were at the same level, however, the Venonat that was originally 200 CP would have a higher CP than the current 600 CP Venonat.

In your case, since Venonat are relatively common, you would be better off waiting for a higher CP Venonat with better IVs than evolving a high CP Venonat with bad IVs or a low CP Venonat with high IVs.

Also, HP is not necessarily higher with higher CP. I have a Chansey with 433 CP but 336 HP. HP is one of the three stats considered IVs. The other two are Attack and Defense.

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When you power-up your Pokémon you will not change its IV one bit, other than to make it easier or harder to calculate. This should give you a hint that IV and CP have different meanings despite there being some slight correlation between them. Think of a Pokémon with a high IV number as permanently having a few more CP at any given level of power-up. This results in only slightly better performance in gymns when powered up as fully as your trainer level allows. IV is way down on the list of importance in gymns compared to other stats like having the most effective moves against a particular opponent and having high HP and CP due to numerous power-ups or being caught already fully powered up. CP and your throwing techniques dictate catchability.

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