Nintendo is not only dealing with the lawsuit against Palworld. A 34-year-old wants to take them to court now because they deny him the status of a Pokémon professor.
What is this lawsuit about? As Iowa Capital Dispatch reports, a man, Kyle Owens, from Iowa is suing Nintendo of America and The Pokémon Company International for allegedly violating antitrust laws. He is seeking $341,000 (approximately €294,000) in damages and the certification of Pokémon professor
.
This is not just an imaginary title, but a program of The Pokémon Company that allows one to participate in or organize various events as a judge, assistant, or ambassador (Source: Pokémon.com). This also grants special prizes and gifts. Although he has even passed a test, he was rejected.
Rejected despite good test results
Why was the man rejected? According to Iowa Capital Dispatch, he was informed in March 2024 that he had passed a test for this program with 100%. However, before he was ultimately to be recognized, he had to undergo a background check.
After this background check, he reportedly received the rejection in May 2024. It was also supposedly found that he only passed 80% of the exam, and thus could not become a Pokémon professor.
According to court documents obtained by Iowa Capital Dispatch, it is said that a warrant was issued against him in 2022. He was allegedly accused of a misdemeanor (participation in a brawl, possession, repair or sale of an offensive weapon, and property damage) for which he never appeared in court.
In the lawsuit, Owens argues that the certificate was originally denied to him due to a minor offense
that occurred 10 years ago. According to him, the reasoning was later changed to offenses for which there were no convictions
.
According to the lawsuit, this denial also harms the community and competition because a qualified event organizer based in Iowa is excluded from the official organized play system relating to Pokémon
.
So far, neither Nintendo nor The Pokémon Company has commented on the case.
Since 2024, Nintendo itself has been in a legal dispute with the survival game Palworld, which continues to this day and revolves around various mechanics and patents. Recently, one of these patents was overturned: Authority overturns Nintendo’s patent that would harm games like Palworld and even Diablo
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