Friday, October 11, 2013 was a night I will NEVER forget! It was the night of the Pokemon X&Y Launch Party in NYC, and also the day before the “Nintendo Communities: StreetPass, Pokemon and Beyond!” panel at New York Comic Con.
The Pokemon X&Y Launch Event was looking to be like an out of control party. People had been lining up for days in front of the Nintendo World Store to attend the event and be some of the first people to buy the newest generation of Pokemon games. Unfortunately, I had arrived late with JDubz and a group of friends, and we were placed wayyyyy back in the line, which was by that time wrapped around 49th Street towards 5th Ave. (Nintendo World Store is on 48th Street – the line was literally wrapping around the entire block!) I was feeling upset because I wasn’t sure if we were ever going to get into the Event, which was set up with a large stage, a DJ booth, demo stations, inflatable Pokemon Starters, and so much more.
Eventually, JDubz and I heard word that since we were panelists for the upcoming Nintendo panel the following day, that we would be given VIP bracelets and would finally be able to get into the event! Hooray! We made it into the staging area and started collecting the cool swag they were giving out, such as paper hats for the different starters, a Pokeball cartridge holder, art cards from the games, as well as posters. (I heard that other people got X&Y Dog Tags and pins… no idea where those were being given out lol!)
After a few minutes checking out the pandemonium of the event – there were hundreds of people in the area! – I was approached by a Pokemon staff member, asking if I wanted to join a costume contest. Since I was in my Pikachu cosplay outfit, I figured why not and headed backstage. The staff members kept adding more cosplayers, but made me stand at the end of the line for some reason. I didn’t read too much into it.
When it was my turn to go up and show off my costume, the hostess was acting kind of weird and so was the Pikachu mascot. We were dancing around and suddenly the hostess declared that Pikachu had something to say and that she needed a translator. Of course, I tried to volunteer, since I too was Pikachu that day, but they ignored me. Suddenly, JDubz appeared on the opposite side of the stage, offering to translate. Pushing past Pikachu, JDubz said, “Debbie [Gluxbox] I choose you!” Then he dropped to one knee, and produced a custom-made Pokeball with a diamond ring inside, and said, “Will you marry me?”
It was an incredible moment. Hundreds of people were cheering and screaming. I pulled JDubz up and gave him a big kiss. And then I grabbed the mic from the hostess to confirm, “Yes! I SAY YES!!!” JDubz began whispering in my ear that he had been working with Nintendo of America and The Pokemon Company for the past nine months to orchestrate this proposal. There are no words to properly express how I was feeling. Flabbergasted? Overwhelmed with joy? Incredible??? A combination of those and every other emotion. I was crying tears of joy and feeling on top of the world. This was such a romantic, sweet and unique proposal and I never saw it coming!
If all of this wasn’t cool enough, we were amazed when we started seeing people sharing articles on Facebook and Twitter posts about JDubz’s proposal before we’d even announced it to our families. Websites like Kotaku and Nintendo Enthusiast were covering the story, and we even got a personal “Congratulations” from Nintendo of America’s Twitter page! There are several videos of the proposal on both Vine and YouTube, so I’ll post a few links here in the blog. If you see any photos or videos that I haven’t shared here in this blog, then that means I haven’t seen it yet! Please send me any photos/videos from JDubz’s proposal to gluxbox@yahoo.com! Thanks to everyone who sent their well-wishes to us, we couldn’t be happier!
I promise I will write another blog about NYCC and the StreetPass Panel very soon. Just let me enjoy Cloud Nine for a few more days please! 😀
StreetPass Long Island 