Six couples got engaged during Pokemon Go Fest Chicago 2026 this weekend after being selected by the Pokemon Go team for surprise proposal experiences during the event at Grant Park.

The engagements took place during the festival, which welcomed around 90,000 players to the park and hundreds of thousands more across the greater Chicago area as part of the citywide celebration. The event marked Pokemon Go's fourth return to Chicago and celebrated the mobile game's ten-year anniversary after its first in-person event debuted there in 2017.

Pokemon Go Fest Chicago Turned Into A Celebration Of Love

According to the Pokemon Go team, trainers submitted their stories online for a chance to be selected for the special proposal experience. The chosen couples received VIP event badges, commemorative gifts, matching Umbreon and Espeon plushies, and surprise proposal setups that included a dedicated photographer and appearances from Pikachu and Eevee mascots.

The proposals took place in a themed photo-op area inside Go Fest. In one video shared on Instagram by WBEZ Chicago, a couple wearing matching Pokemon-patterned shirts pose with Eevee before one of them removes a ring from his bag and proposes in front of the mascot. Social media users reacted to the moment, with commenters writing messages like “omggggggggg i love this 😭😭😭” and “Happy Pride Month & congratulations 🌈.”

The Pokemon Go team said they were excited to see so many trainers want to share major life milestones with the game's community.

For players who were unable to attend Pokemon Go Fest Chicago, Pokemon Go Fest Global will take place July 11-12, which will allow players around the world to participate remotely.

As someone who attended Pokemon Go Fest Chicago this year, this was genuinely heartwarming. Between families exploring Grant Park together, matching outfits everywhere I looked, and the surprise proposals, the event felt like a massive community gathering built around connection.

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Pokemon GO

Augmented Reality RPG Systems Released July 6, 2016 ESRB e Developer(s) Niantic Publisher(s) Niantic Engine Unity Multiplayer Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
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Cross-Platform Play Yes Cross Save Yes Franchise Pokemon Number of Players Single-player Steam Deck Compatibility n/a Genre(s) Augmented Reality, RPG Platform(s) iOS, Android How Long To Beat 163 hours X|S Optimized n/a Platforms ios, andriod Powered by Expand Collapse