I’ll be honest: I do not have the need or desire for multiple “Pokemon Go” accounts. That said, though, I can think of a few reasons why you might, which might necessitate needing to know how to switch accounts in “Pokemon Go.” Maybe you decided you want to experience each of the different teams first-hand; maybe you missed getting Pikachu as your starter Pokemon and want to give capturing this fan favorite a shot; heck, maybe you just decided you don’t like your avatar’s outfit. Whatever your thought process? Well, you do you. That’s what I’m saying.
Before we get started, though, there are a couple of things you need to know about “Pokemon Go” accounts. First, each “Pokemon Go” account needs to be hooked up to a unique Gmail address or Pokemon Trainer Club account, so you can’t run two different accounts from the same email or from the same trainer club account. But given how easy it is to set up new email accounts, you could hypothetically have an unlimited number of “Pokemon Go” accounts — you’d just need to make sure you can keep all your login info straight. (It's worth noting, though, that having more than one account might be construed as cheating; according to the "Pokemon Go" support site, "Play fair. ... Methods of cheating, unfortunately, are limited only by cheaters' imaginations, but include at minimum the following: using modified or unofficial software; playing with multiple accounts; ... sharing accounts; using tools or techniques to alter or falsify your location; or selling/trading accounts." Just, y'know... keep that in mind.)
Second, there isn’t an easy way to toggle back and forth between different accounts — that is, you can’t switch without logging out of one account and then into another. The good news, though, is that it’s pretty easy to do regardless, so if it takes 10 extra seconds for you to jump from Trainer AryaStarkWinterIsComing92753 to Trainer MyCatIsAWeirdo26751, so be it.
For the purposes of this tutorial, I’m going to assume you’re starting from a point of already being signed into one account. We’ll cover how to log out, then how to log back in with another account. You’ll need at least two different “Pokemon Go” accounts — and therefore, at least two different Gmail accounts, two different PokemonTrainer Club accounts, or one Gmail account and one Pokemon Trainer Club account — in order to make it work, so go ahead and create that second account if you haven’t already.
Ready? Here we go.
1. From The Map Screen, Go To The Main Menu
Do this by tapping the Pokeball at the bottom of the screen.
2. Tap “Settings”
It’s in the upper right hand corner. Note: Merely tapping the word “Settings” will actually exit out of the Main Menu; you have to tap the gear icon in order to go to the Settings menu. (I say this because I have accidentally exited out of the Main Menu way too many times because of imprecise tapping. I assume I am not the only person who has had this problem.)
3. Scroll Down And Tap “Sign Out”
It’s at the very bottom of the Settings menu.
4. From The Title Screen, Tap “Google” Or “Pokemon Trainer Club”
After you sign out, you should find yourself back at the title screen — that is, the first screen you encounter when you boot up the app and before you log in.
What you do next will change depending on what your “Pokemon Go” accounts are hooked up to: If you have two different “Pokemon Go” accounts attached to two different Gmail addresses, tap “Google.” If your “Pokemon Go” accounts are attached to two different Pokemon Trainer Club accounts, tap “Pokemon Trainer Club.” If one of your “Pokemon Go” accounts is attached to a Gmail address and the other is attached to a Pokemon Trainer Club account, tap whichever icon corresponds to the account you didn’t log out of in Step Three (so, if you logged out of a Gmail account, tap “Pokemon Trainer Club”; however, if you logged out of a Pokemon Trainer Club account, tap “Google”).
5. Log Into Your Second Account
Whatever your login information is, enter it here. I’ve illustrated this step with the Google sign-in screen, but if you’re logging into a Pokemon Trainer Club account, you’ll see a slightly different screen with fields for that information instead.
And voila! If you’ve followed these five steps correctly, you should now be signed into your second account. Or your third account. Or maybe even your 10th account, in which case, I commend you for your fortitude; I certainly wouldn’t have the patience to go through leveling up 10 different trainers, but that’s just me.
Now get out there and catch some Pokemon.
Images: Lucia Peters/Bustle (5); Giphy
