Markiplier's "Smash or Pass" Pokémon Video

About

Markiplier's "Smash or Pass" Pokémon Video refers to a viral YouTube video by Markiplier from early 2022 in which he decides whether he would have sex or decline sex ("Smash or Pass") all 898 Pokémon. The video sparked several reactions and copycat videos, as well as an exploitable meme in which Markiplier is used to "Smash or Pass" other genres.

Origin

The original video was posted on February 12th, 2022, by Markiplier on YouTube^[1] (shown below). In the video, Markiplier decides whether to "Smash or Pass" each of the 898 pokemon in the entire game series' current roster. Out of the 898, only 72 were "Smash" and the other 827 were "Pass." The video has received over 5.9 million views in over one week.

Spread

The video quickly became fodder for react content on YouTube. On February 15th, 2022, YouTuber MorePat posted a reaction video to Markiplier, gaining over 113,000 views (shown below, left). On February 17th, YouTuber Supra posted his reaction to Markiplier's list, gaining over 16,000 views (shown below, right).

Parodies also followed in the wake of Markiplier's video. For example, on February 14th, xX_peter_Xx posted a parody where Markiplier did "Smash or Pass" with Family Guy characters, gaining over 36,000 views in one week (shown below, left). The same day, YouTuber Kouagon posted a parody where Markiplier played the game with Final Fantasy XIV characters, gaining over 80,000 views (shown below, right).

The video also inspired parodies involving fan art. For example, Twitter user @ArkatiArt^[2] posted a parody of Markiplier deciding to "smash" Decidueye, gaining over 640 retweets and 4,700 likes (shown below, left). The user also posted a For the Better, Right meme showing Markiplier's take on Beedrill,^[3] gaining over 2,100 retweets and 11,000 likes (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References