Iowa Man Sues Nintendo After Being Denied ‘Pokémon Professor’ Status
Owens says he passed the exam with a 100% score and seeks $341,000 after the companies cited background-check findings and denied certification.
- Kyle Owens of Laurens, Iowa, is suing Nintendo and Company International in the Southern District Court, alleging the companies violated the Sherman Act by denying him Professor status.
- The program functions as a structured certification system granting access to official event tools, but Owens claims he was denied status after initially passing the exam with a 100% score on March 12, 2024.
- Owens alleges the company initially cited an "old, low-level felony that was more than 10 years old," then changed the rationale to three misdemeanor charges that do not show guilty findings.
- The lawsuit seeks $341,000 in damages and a Court injunction to award Owens Professor certification, restore his access to official tools, and enable him to host Pokémon events.
- Owens claims the denial reduces competition and consumer access by eliminating an Iowa-based event host from the organized system associated with the Japanese franchise.
34 Articles
34 Articles
Man sues Nintendo after his Pokémon Professor application was denied
Put some respect on Professor Oak's name: Becoming a Pokémon expert isn't easy. A man from Iowa named Kyle Lee Owens found this out the hard way, after submitting an application to be an officially designated Pokémon Professor. The Pokémon Company evidently did not feel his credentials were up to snuff, and now the rejection has turned into a legal rigmarole.
Would-be Pokémon Professor sues Nintendo for denying him the status
Kyle Owens, 34, should by rights be recognized as a Pokémon Professor, a status conferred by Nintendo to knowledgeable experts of the game franchise seeking leadership roles in the fan community. But as Owens claims in a federal lawsuit against the company and Pokémon Company International, he has been unfairly denied the prestigious accolade. — Read the rest The post Would-be Pokémon Professor sues Nintendo for denying him the status appeared f…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 71% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
