A Couple Got Engaged at the NYC Pokmon GO Fest (EXCLUSIVE)

Pokémon is a giant a part of many avid gamers' lives, however for one couple, it is become a part of their special day when they popped the question at the NYC GO Fest.

The Pokémon franchise holds a particular place in the lives of many of its gamers, whether or not they began playing the games on the original Game Boy console or watched Ash Ketchum on his adventure through the Kanto region. Pokémon GO has greater than seventy five million lively gamers years after its release, and running shoes from everywhere the global attended the in-person New York City Pokémon GO Fest in August 2023.

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Not only was the in-person GO Fest a likelihood for trainers to catch some exclusive Pokémon and trade with others in-person, but for one couple, it also marked a large step of their courting. In between the unique picture opportunities arrange by the Pokémon Company and other exciting exhibits, Brad got down on one knee and proposed to Kelsi.

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"I thought [GO Fest] would be a really fun place to do it," Brad said on a call with Distractify. "I was super nervous, but it was cool and everybody cheered."

His determination to propose in front of the Poison Swamp area picture op was simply one of the many moments in the pair's dating cemented in combination by way of their love of Pokémon.

Pokémon has been with Brad and Kelsi through a lot of their courting — even when they had been simply buddies.

Brad and Kelsi have recognized each and every other since 2009 after they met on the bus ride to school. And lengthy before Kelsi considered a courting with Brad, they had been just right friends.

"We've been best friends since the day we met," Kelsi mentioned. "Even after high school, he would come to my house at least three to four times a week just to hang out with me and our best friends."

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Pokémon has been a consistent in the pair's courting since the beginning. Brad grew up enjoying all of the video games starting with Red and Blue, whilst Kelsi was once a fan of the anime and began amassing plushies from a younger age (although her collection has grown since she and Brad started dating, she stated). Brad admitted he'd been crushing on Kelsi lengthy ahead of they made their courting authentic, but their friendship did not start to morph into one thing more until Pokémon GO launched in 2016.

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"Pokémon GO was like the best date idea, you know?" Brad said.

After the sport was launched, the pair spent with reference to every day in combination, they recounted, trying to find Pokémon and competing in raids.

"For the full year leading up to [us dating], while Pokémon GO was out, we were going to local hotspots ... back when Gyrados was the big thing to get. So we would go drive about 25 minutes away and walk around this water boardwalk to catch Magikarps when we were just friends. We did a million raids when we were just friends," Kelsi said.

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"There was always something different, like 'Oh my gosh, Mewtwo just came out! Oh my gosh, he can be Shiny! Oh my gosh, pull over, there's a Tyrannitar right here!' It was just silly. We would get really excited as things were coming out," she persevered. "One of my friends noticed [my feelings] before I did — they were like 'You keep flirting with Brad, do you like him?'"

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Brad officially asked Kelsi to be his girlfriend whilst they were in the middle of an Entei raid on Oct. 1 2017 — and after she said sure, he named the Entei he stuck all over the raid "Anniversary."

"It's the best way to remember," Brad joked, appearing off the Pokémon still in his collection on the app.

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The couple had already planned on attending GO Fest in New York, being only a short force away in Maryland, and in between the four-hour ticketed periods, Brad popped the question while exploring the setup at Randall's Island.

"I hired a photographer from New York because it just makes more sense. I had him waiting at [Randall's] Island," Brad said. "We walked around we were playing for a little bit. We tried to find all the best photo ops because the Pokémon Company sets up so many and they're all beautiful."

Though there are no forged plans for the wedding just yet, Pokémon can be a a part of their big day

"We would love to include Pokémon [in the wedding]," Brad said. "We love everything that's Pokémon, but we'll see how that ends up fleshing out."

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