Lyrics
[INTRO] Yeah Back when life was simple
One starter
Three Poké Balls
Unlimited confidence for absolutely no reason
[VERSE 1] Route 1 mentality
I thought I was different
Fresh out Pallet Town talking crazy with ambition
Whole backpack clean
Shoes not dirty yet
Hadn’t lost one battle so my ego undefeated technically
Caught a Pidgey and immediately felt powerful
That’s how little success affected me as a child dude
Walking through tall grass like a future king
Meanwhile my starter barely knew Ember confidently
Mom waving goodbye emotional
Professor hyping me up delusional
I really thought becoming Champion was automatic
Like:
“Yeah I’ll probably handle that by next Saturday.”
No stress yet
No losses
No cave trauma
Hadn’t even discovered financial suffering via Poké Balls honestly
Every trainer smiling
Sun shining perfectly
Before reality started personally targeting me
[HOOK] Route 1 mentality
Back when dreams felt easy
Before every battle started emotionally defeating me
Route 1 mentality
Pure confidence and vibes
Before I learned most trainers don’t actually survive the climb
I miss that feeling honestly
Thinking I was next
Before life hit me with six Geodudes and emotional debt
[VERSE 2] Now I look back kinda jealous of that version
Didn’t overthink everything constantly while journeying
Back then every route felt legendary
Now I panic if my team ain’t perfectly balanced competitively
I used to catch Pokémon cause they looked cool
Now I’m reading stats online like a stressed-out fool
Somewhere between the gyms and losses
I stopped feeling like the main character honestly
But every now and then I hear that old route music
And remember why I started doing this stupidness
The excitement
The wonder
The dumb confidence
Thinking your first Pokémon could conquer continents
Maybe that’s the point though
Not becoming the best
Just believing you could before life became a mess
[HOOK] Route 1 mentality
Back before the pressure
Before every rival battle felt like life getting measured
Route 1 mentality
Still chasing that high
Trying to feel like the kid who first stepped outside
[OUTRO] I kinda miss being bad at Pokémon
Back when I didn’t know what EV training was
Or type charts
Or optimization
Back when I was clueless about the game
Just vibes
And one overleveled starter
Honestly?
That might’ve been the happiest part of the whole journey
Like having an overleveled starter like a Charmander who would lose to a Metapod for crying out loud
Like he would lose BAD
I rage quit after that like my ego was shot after that
Those were the days
Back when every trainer looked beatable
Didn’t know getting humbled was this achievable
Saw the tall grass like:
“Yeah this my story mode.”
Now I need emotional support after every Geodude
Used to nickname every Pokémon proudly
Now half my team named “help” and “why me” loudly
But I still miss that first-day feeling
No pressure
No stress
Just adventure and bad decision-making appealing
Back when I really thought the whole world opened for me
Off one starter Pokémon and Route 1 energy