VALORANT Team Squirtle Squad must change its name because Nintendo was the original creator of the Pokemon Squirtle Squads group and does not want the team to change the name for its own purposes. The team is now looking for a new name and has launched a public appeal to do so, which has generated a lot of attention.
Team Squirtle Squad around American gamer Peter “Governor Val” No, has been in the headlines – for something innocent like their team name. Nintendo recently reached out to Squirtle Squad and engaged in a trademark dispute with the team.
Nintendo starts in trademark dispute
Team Squirtle Squad has managed to snag a spot in the North American Challengers League, but it came with a price, as it the team must now change its name. The problem is that the Squirtle Squad are actually a group of sunglasses-wearing turtles featured in the Pokemon anime. Now the team has to change its name because of a trademark dispute with Nintendo.
Team calls for new name on Twitter
Instead of coming up with a name on their own, the group formerly known as Squirtle Squad launched a call to their fans for a new name, promising that the person with the best answer “will have the honor of being part of the team.” This has caused quite a stir, as many players want to be part of the team and have put in a lot of effort to come up with a new name.
Due to conflict of interest with Riot and Nintendo we gotta change our team name. Best reply will be our team name going into challengers.
— Governor (@Governor_Val) January 26, 2023
The team has been asking its fans via Twitter to come up with a new name for the lineup, and people have not disappointed when it comes to creative naming. A few opted for variants of the current name, but with enough of a change to avoid Nintendo’s trademark. From Turtle Troops, to Blast Boyz, to Bulbasaur Bros and ™ for Trademark Issues, there were some fun ones. The tweet quickly went through the roof and has since garnered 4,467 likes and quite a few imaginative replies.
Nintendo in criticism
So far, the organization has not decided on a new name. They will wait until the start of the North American Challengers League on February 1 to decide what name will replace Squirtle Squad at the tournament and in the future. In an ideal world, Nintendo would just let the team continue, but this is another case of red tape and legal issues ruining something great. Many fans didn’t like Nintendo’s attitude towards the trademark dispute, condemning them for their narrow-mindedness. Others could understand that this is a trademark and a name that can’t just be indiscriminately.