Overview
A Team Medallion is a single-use item that changes your Trainer's team allegiance between Team Instinct (led by Spark), Team Mystic (led by Blanche), and Team Valor (led by Candela). Switching teams changes which Gyms you can defend, which team color grants you Gym control bonuses, and which Team Leader appraises your Pokémon, without altering any Pokémon in your collection. You must reach Trainer level 5 and choose an initial team at a Gym before you can switch.
Because you can only buy one Team Medallion every 365 days, check which teams your friends play on and whether you have Pokémon currently defending Gyms before activating it.
How to get it
Buy a Team Medallion in the in-game shop for 1,000 PokéCoins after reaching Trainer level 5 and joining an initial team at a Gym.
You can purchase only one Team Medallion every 365 days; the item is hidden from the shop while your cooldown is active.
How to use it
Open your Item Bag, tap the Team Medallion, and follow the prompts to select your new team.
Check the choice carefully before confirming the change.
Worth knowing
Wait until your current Gym defenders have been knocked out if you still need your daily PokéCoins, as any Pokémon defending Gyms when you switch teams return with 0 PokéCoins once defeated or visited.
Coordinate a team change with how you actually play Gyms; the long purchase cooldown makes frequent switching impractical.
Price, cooldown, and Gym defenders
Introduced on February 26, 2019, the Team Medallion costs 1,000 PokéCoins in the shop and can only be purchased once every 365 days. During that 365-day cooldown after a purchase, the Team Medallion does not appear in the shop at all. Any Pokémon you have defending Gyms when you change teams will return without earning PokéCoins from that defense period, so let your defenders return before switching if you want those coins.
What happens to existing Gym defenders
When you activate a Team Medallion, any Pokémon you currently have in your old team's Gyms are not kicked out right away, and you do not immediately receive PokéCoins for the time they have already defended. Instead, remote Berry feeding to those defenders is disabled immediately. Because you cannot battle your own Pokémon, they stay in their Gyms until another Trainer defeats them or until you physically visit that Gym, at which point they return to your collection with 0 PokéCoins earned for that defense.
Buying a Team Medallion and using it are two separate steps. After purchase, the Team Medallion stays in your Item Bag until you tap it to open the team-selection prompt. The 365-day cooldown applies to purchasing another Team Medallion in the shop, so double-check your choice before confirming your new team.
At 1,000 PokéCoins, the normal price equals 20 days of earning the full 50-coin Gym allowance. A team change may help you coordinate Gym play with friends, but it does not raise that daily coin limit.
