>>53029640In the context of Pokémon these types of memes and videos have far reaching consequences. Not only in shifting perceptions but also building them up as well. Vaporeon is a perfect example.
Take for example this video:
https://youtu.be/moThgJzoqIwSomething that people don't realize is that Vaporeon is still less sexualized than both Sylveon and Umbreon. Umbreon in particular is the 4th most sexualized Pokémon. But for people, and in big thanks to memes, Vaporeon remains the front face of eeveelution sexualization. The person who made that video is probably not aware of that and simply going off what the general public sees.
In truth the copypasta is very widespread that you find it acknowledged in big, open forums. No other Pokémon has that amount of meme clout. This in turn makes Vaporeon come in the fore front when it comes to Pokémon sexualization and it even helps it reach a more "normal" position. By this I mean that even in more general and tame spaces that status is acknowledged. For example being the most upvoted Pokémon in r/rule34 with over 2.4 million subscribers. Mind you the human characters decimate all the Pokémon but it's status is so strong that it can even flourish to some extend in that sort of environment. Smash or pass polls also show it doing pretty well which is an extension of that status.
In short, yes, these videos play a crucial role in shaping up perception. Generally I think the copypasta gave a face to the already strong eeveelution presence as seen in polls, eeveelutions maintain consistency in these polls which shows it's been brewing for a while.
But as much as these videos and memes reach the mainstream I still think pokephilia is something that viewed with caution. In general imageboards the human characters outperform all the Pokémon greatly.
