Iowa man sues Nintendo after missing out on Pokemon Professor role
An Iowa man has taken Nintendo of America and The Pokemon Company International to court after his application to become a “Pokemon Professor” was rejected.
According to Dexerto, citing KCRG, 34-year-old Kyle Owens from Laurens, Iowa filed the lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. He is seeking US$341,000 in damages, while also asking the court to make the companies approve his Professor certification, restore his access to official programme tools, and let him run sanctioned Pokemon events.
For casual fans, “Pokemon Professor” may sound like just a cute community title. But within Play! Pokemon, it is a proper organised-play role. Certified Professors can support events as organisers, judges, assistants, and ambassadors. That matters because official events are where players get structured tournaments, proper rulings, event listings, and a cleaner path into the wider competitive Pokemon ecosystem.
Owens argues in the lawsuit that the programme is not only recreational. His claim is that certification can open the door to commercial benefits, including access to official tools, sanctioned card and video game events, customer traffic, product sales, and listings inside Pokemon’s organised-play network.
The dispute started after Owens said he passed the basic Professor exam on March 12, 2024 with a perfect score. However, court exhibits cited by KCRG reportedly show that passing the exam was not the final step, because he still had to complete a background check before being admitted.
That check allegedly flagged a pending arrest warrant from another state in 2022. The warrant was linked to a failure to appear in court on misdemeanor charges, including disorderly conduct, possessing, repairing, or selling an offensive weapon, and criminal mischief involving property damage.
On May 6, 2024, The Pokemon Company International told Owens his application had been denied after reviewing the background check. The same letter reportedly also said that, after the background check, his exam score was determined to be 80%, which meant he did not pass the requirement for Professor status.
Owens is challenging that explanation. He claims the reason for the rejection shifted, and also argues that the misdemeanor charges did not include guilty findings.
The lawsuit goes further than just personal disappointment. Owens claims the denial removed a qualified Iowa-based organiser from the official Play! Pokemon system, which he says limited competition and reduced consumer access to sanctioned events in the area.
For Malaysia and SEA Pokemon fans, this case is interesting because organised play depends heavily on trusted local organisers. Whether it is TCG nights at hobby shops, VGC brackets, or community events around KL, PJ, Penang, Singapore, Bangkok, or Jakarta, official certification can affect who gets to host, judge, and build a reliable scene. When access to those roles is controlled tightly, it can shape how easily local players find legit events.
At the time of Dexerto’s report, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company International had not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.
Source: Dexerto Gaming
