How to Change Teams in Pokémon GO (And What You Need to Know First)
Switching teams in Pokémon GO sounds simple — but it's one of the most misunderstood mechanics in the game. Whether you regret your original choice or want to align with friends, the process isn't as straightforward as tapping a settings menu. Here's exactly how team changing works, what limits apply, and why your situation matters more than any general advice.
Why You Can't Just Change Teams Anytime
When you reach Level 5 in Pokémon GO, you're prompted to join one of three teams:
- 🔵 Team Mystic (Articuno) — values wisdom and calm analysis
- 🔴 Team Valor (Moltres) — values strength and battle training
- 🟡 Team Instinct (Zapdos) — values intuition and hatching eggs
Your choice has real consequences: it determines which Gyms you can defend, which teammates you coordinate with during Gym battles, and even how your community experience feels in certain regions where one team dominates.
Niantic designed team affiliation as a long-term commitment, not a casual preference toggle. That said, they did eventually introduce a limited method to change.
The Official Way to Change Your Team
The only legitimate way to change teams in Pokémon GO is by using a Team Medallion. Here's how it works:
What Is the Team Medallion?
The Team Medallion is a one-time-use item available in the in-game shop. Once purchased and used, it allows you to switch your team to any of the other two options.
How to Use It
- Open Pokémon GO and tap the Poké Ball icon at the bottom of the screen
- Go to Shop
- Search for or scroll to Team Medallion
- Purchase it using PokéCoins
- Once in your inventory, tap the item and confirm your team selection
- Your team changes immediately
That's the complete process — no special level requirement beyond the original Level 5, no research task, no event needed.
The Key Restrictions You Need to Understand
Using the Team Medallion isn't a repeatable shortcut. Niantic built hard limits into the mechanic:
The 365-Day Cooldown
After using a Team Medallion, you cannot switch teams again for 365 days. This is a firm cooldown tracked by the game's servers — it's not calendar-based on your device, so you can't manipulate it by changing your phone's date.
This means if you switch to Team Valor today, you're locked in until roughly the same date next year. There's no workaround, no support override, and no paying to bypass the timer.
Gym Defender Requirement
If your Pokémon are currently defending a Gym, you cannot use the Team Medallion until they return. You'll need to either wait for them to be knocked out or feed them enough Berries that they eventually get defeated and return home with their earned PokéCoins.
This is a mechanical blocker — the game won't let the switch proceed while you have active Gym defenders.
PokéCoin Cost
The Team Medallion requires PokéCoins to purchase. You can earn PokéCoins by defending Gyms (up to a daily cap), or purchase them with real money through the in-app store. The cost is fixed in-game currency rather than real currency directly, but budget is still a variable depending on your coin balance.
What Actually Changes When You Switch Teams
Understanding the downstream effects is just as important as the process itself.
| Element | Changes After Switch | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Team color & badge | ✅ Yes | Immediately updated |
| Gym access | ✅ Yes | You can now defend new team's Gyms |
| Raid invites from friends | ⚠️ Indirectly | Team doesn't gate Raid invites |
| Buddy history | ❌ No | Unaffected |
| Pokémon storage | ❌ No | Nothing is lost |
| Medals and achievements | ❌ No | All retained |
| Previous Gym badges | ❌ No | Badges stay; you just can't defend those Gyms as the same team |
Your Pokémon, progress, and item inventory are completely untouched. The switch is purely a team affiliation change.
Variables That Affect Whether Switching Makes Sense
Several factors make this decision meaningfully different from player to player:
Local team dominance — In some cities, one team controls the majority of Gyms. Switching to the dominant local team can dramatically change how often your Pokémon earn PokéCoins from Gym defense. In other areas, the balance is close enough that it barely matters.
Your friend group — If your core playing group recently shifted teams or you're joining a new local community, alignment affects raid coordination and Gym strategy. Coordination in-game is informal, but team alignment shapes who you're working with.
How active you are — Casual players who open the app occasionally may find the team switch has minimal practical impact. High-frequency players who defend Gyms daily, battle in raids, and coordinate locally will feel the change more acutely.
Your coin balance and earning rate — The 365-day lock means you're essentially making a year-long commitment. If your local meta shifts — a new player group moves in, a new neighborhood hot spot opens — you may find yourself regretting a switch made too impulsively.
Account age and history — Long-standing players sometimes have sentimental or social ties to their original team that newer players don't. Switching may affect relationships with longtime raid partners or local group dynamics in ways that go beyond the game mechanics.
One Switch, One Year: The Underlying Design Logic
Niantic's intent is clear: team identity is meant to mean something. The Team Medallion acknowledges that people's circumstances change, while the 365-day cooldown prevents the mechanic from being exploited for competitive advantage — like switching teams to take down rival Gyms more easily and then switching back.
Whether that design serves your particular situation depends on where you play, how you play, and what you're actually trying to get out of the change.