Pokémon Go trainers will no longer be bound by Team Mystic, Team Valor, or Team Instinct in perpetuity.
That’s the news coming out of Niantic and The Pokémon Company this week, after the announcement that players will soon be able to purchase a new item known as the Team Medallion. It’ll set you back 1,000 PokéCoins, and Niantic has been quick to stress that trainers will only be able to change allegiance once per year.
Still, for those early adopters of Pokémon Go, this is a welcome feature, as it opens up the chance to switch between Mystic, Valor or Instinct in order to carry out raids with your friends. The Team Medallion itself will be part of a free Pokémon Go update that looks set to go live later this month, and as always, you can purchase the necessary PokéCoins from the in-game shop if you don’t fancy grinding to 1,000.
Via The Pokémon Company:
Any of your Pokémon that are in Gyms when you change teams will be returned with no PokéCoins earned once it’s defeated. You also can’t battle your own Pokémon, so if you return to a Gym one of your Pokémon is defending, your Pokémon will be returned to you with no PokéCoins earned. (You’ll be able to find more information on our Help Center page.)
So whether you’ve sworn allegiance to Team Mystic, Team Valor, or Team Instinct, you can expect a fair amount of chopping and changing over the coming weeks, as players take full advantage of their annual Team Medallion.
Looking further afield, and with Pokémon Day 2019 right around the corner (February 27th), we can expect many more announcements to come from the world of Kanto – even if a Nintendo Switch game announcement is too much of a stretch.