This is a PSA for all of you who rushed through making their "Pokemon Go account" because they were too excited to start catching Pokemon, created a highly embarrassing Trainer name, and have been frantically Googling, "Can you change your Trainer Name in 'Pokemon Go?'" for the past two weeks: You can now! Yes, thanks to the app's Aug. 8 update (1.3.0 for iOS and 0.33.00 for Android), we have now gained the ability to rename our Trainers... but HOLD ON. There's a catch: You can change your Trainer name once. That's it. Once you alter it, it's really, truly, changed for good.
This might be a good time to remember how living with the consequences of impulsivity feels. So, you know, even though we can now correct one mistake, we should still be able to learn from that mistake. Maybe that will teach us not to put unpleasant words in our "Pokemon Go" handles. Or in any moniker that can be linked to us on the internet. Just a suggestion.
In any event, here's the deal: Similar to the avatar design rules, which initially didn't allow you to change your avatar's appearance but which later changed all that in the July 31 update, "Pokemon Go" seems to be gradually lifting the limitations surrounding users' ability to futz around with aesthetics. To be honest, were I a serious "Pokemon Go" player a lot of my time would probably be spent on perfecting my online persona, thanks to these new changes. Sure, that's time that could have been spent, you know actually playing the game — but there's also something to be said for being able to make your online persona a reflection of who you truly are. You may not have purple hair or have the word "Lightning" in your name, but thanks to these customization options, you could. And that, as they say, isn't nothing.
The actual changing of your "Pokemon Go" nickname is fairly easy: in the Settings menu, just tap "change nickname" to, well, change your nickname. Additionally, if you managed to blow it and created a Trainer name that somehow reveals a level of personal information with which you are uncomfortable, not once, but twice, then you do have the option of requesting an additional try at a nickname. The request form can be found here, and it looks like it does require users to explain themselves. Like at the principal's office.
However, does anyone else feel this changes the game a bit? With this new level of leniency, will we no longer get delightful tweets like these?
Or these?!
Man, I hope the magic of those days isn't gone for good. Because those are priceless.
Images: Lucia Peters/Bustle; Giphy (2)
