One account per person
Each person plays with one account. Having more than one is strictly forbidden, even if you never use both at the same time and even if one never helps the other.
Anyone caught with more than one account loses all of them, not just the newest one.
Playing from the same house is normal
This was never a problem and still is not. Siblings, a couple, friends sharing the same internet: several accounts coming from the same place is common, and nobody is punished for that alone.
The rule is about one person running several accounts to benefit themselves, not about a household with more than one player.
What is not allowed
- Opening a new account for yourself. That is the main rule.
- Referring yourself. Creating an account and using it as your referred friend is blocked. See Founders and referral.
- Multiplying a per-person reward. A reward meant for one player cannot be claimed several times with different accounts.
- Pretending to be different people. Using accounts to fake a dispute, a deal or the presence of separate players.
- Escaping a punishment. A new account to get around a block applied to another account of yours.
If your account was suspended
When you open the game you see a screen telling you what happened, the reason, and how long the suspension lasts. Once that date passes the account comes back on its own: you do not need to ask for anything or talk to anyone.
That same screen has a field to ask for a review. Use it if you think there was a mistake, and there is a good chance there was: siblings, couples, flatmates and people playing from the same computer show up as linked on our side without doing anything wrong.
To get the review done fast, write in your request:
- who you are;
- which of the other accounts belong to other people;
- how you are related (same home, same computer, same internet).
You can have one open request at a time. The team answers in that request, and the answer shows up on the same screen.
If you have two accounts and want to keep one
Move what matters to the account that stays yours through a trade or the market, with the usual fees. Then delete the other one.
To delete it, open Account in the game and scroll to the end, to Close the account. You type your trainer's name to confirm and that is it, no need to talk to anyone. It is forever: progress, pokémon, items, gold and Sapphire go away and do not come back.
If you have an open Market listing, cancel it first: what is listed would be lost with the account.
There is no account merge. Level, pokémon, gold, Sapphire and Premium do not move from one account to the other automatically.
The full rule is in Game rules, in the clause about multiple accounts.