{"id":2029,"date":"2026-05-20T17:31:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029"},"modified":"2026-05-20T17:31:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:31:37","slug":"iowa-man-sues-nintendo-over-denied-pokemon-professor-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029","title":{"rendered":"Iowa man sues Nintendo over denied Pok\u00e9mon Professor status"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n article<\/span><\/div>

FILE – A symbolic photo of Pokemon. (Photo Illustration by Thomas Trutschel\/Photothek via Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>

Read more Tomball woman charged with murder called 911 to confess to shooting boyfriend<\/a><\/p>

Expand<\/div><\/div><\/div> <\/div>

An Iowa man is suing Nintendo because he was denied a Poke\u0301mon Professor certification after scoring a 100% on the examination.<\/p>

The lawsuit, filed in a Northern District of Iowa U.S. District Court, claimed Kyle Owens, 34, was being “unlawfully excluded” from gaining a Poke\u0301mon Professor status.<\/p>

Dig deeper:<\/p>

<\/div>

Owens claimed that after passing the exam, a background check was required.<\/p>

The background check found a “low-level Illinois felony that was more than ten years old” which was the basis for denying Owens a Pokemon Professor status, the lawsuit claimed.<\/p>

After Owens challenged this basis, the entity abandoned it and instead cited three Pennsylvania misdemeanors “that did not show guilty findings.”<\/p>

Read more Lockdown lifted at Klein Forest HS after report of weapon deemed false<\/a><\/p>

What they’re saying:<\/p>

“Defendants\u2019 shifting reasons show arbitrary decision-making, bad faith, pretext, lack of consistent standards, lack of a legitimate nexus between the record information and the certification sought,” the lawsuit said.\u00a0<\/p>

Owens said because he was denied professor status, he lost access to special tools, event-hosting authority, prospective customer traffic, and other economic benefits.\u00a0<\/p>

Owens claimed Nintendo and Poke\u0301mon Company International violated the Sherman Antitrust Act,\u00a0<\/u>a federal law that outlaws monopolistic business practices and conspiracies that unreasonably restrain foreign trade.\u00a0<\/p>

What’s next:<\/p>

Owens is seeking $341,000 in damages, as well as his Poke\u0301mon Professor certification.<\/p>

Read more 27 bricks of cocaine wash up on Galveston beach<\/a><\/p>

FOX has reached out to Nintendo for comment.\u00a0<\/i><\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Iowa man sued Nintendo after being denied Pok\u00e9mon Professor certification despite scoring 100% on the exam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iowa","category-unusual"],"yoast_head":"\nIowa man sues Nintendo over denied Pok\u00e9mon Professor status - Houston Moving Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iowa man sues Nintendo over denied Pok\u00e9mon Professor status - Houston Moving Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An Iowa man sued Nintendo after being denied Pok\u00e9mon Professor certification despite scoring 100% on the exam.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Houston Moving Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-20T17:31:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/209a4c8ed023b9e6f0c0bd284cc6dc91.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"764\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2029#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2029\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba\"},\"headline\":\"Iowa man sues Nintendo over denied Pok\u00e9mon Professor status\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-20T17:31:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2029\"},\"wordCount\":285,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2029#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/8227e634cc0475257fc011704475bb1e.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Iowa\",\"Unusual\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2029#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2029\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2029\",\"name\":\"Iowa man sues Nintendo over denied Pok\u00e9mon Professor status - Houston Moving Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2029#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2029#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/8227e634cc0475257fc011704475bb1e.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-20T17:31:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2029#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2029\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2029#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/8227e634cc0475257fc011704475bb1e.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/8227e634cc0475257fc011704475bb1e.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2029#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Iowa man sues Nintendo over denied Pok\u00e9mon Professor status\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Houston Moving Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Iowa man sues Nintendo over denied Pok\u00e9mon Professor status - Houston Moving Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Iowa man sues Nintendo over denied Pok\u00e9mon Professor status - Houston Moving Journal","og_description":"An Iowa man sued Nintendo after being denied Pok\u00e9mon Professor certification despite scoring 100% on the exam.","og_url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029","og_site_name":"Houston Moving Journal","article_published_time":"2026-05-20T17:31:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":764,"height":432,"url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/209a4c8ed023b9e6f0c0bd284cc6dc91.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba"},"headline":"Iowa man sues Nintendo over denied Pok\u00e9mon Professor status","datePublished":"2026-05-20T17:31:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029"},"wordCount":285,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8227e634cc0475257fc011704475bb1e.webp","articleSection":["Iowa","Unusual"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029","url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029","name":"Iowa man sues Nintendo over denied Pok\u00e9mon Professor status - Houston Moving Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8227e634cc0475257fc011704475bb1e.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-20T17:31:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8227e634cc0475257fc011704475bb1e.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8227e634cc0475257fc011704475bb1e.webp","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2029#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Iowa man sues Nintendo over denied Pok\u00e9mon Professor status"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/","name":"Houston Moving Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com"],"url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}