"Rotation? What is that?"
"I've never even heard that term."
"Can you eat it?"
Almost all the students looked confused by the so-called correct answer Lumiere revealed. Only Cynthia seemed a bit excited, eagerly preparing to take notes.
"Without your muscles even realizing it, the Poké Ball returns to your hand the instant it's thrown—this is rotation!"
"Maybe it's complicated to explain, but just believe in rotation. Just believe, that's enough," Lumiere said, then sat down as if nothing had happened.
After a full second of stunned silence, the classroom instantly erupted.
"So what's the principle?!"
"Everyone has their own understanding—there are a thousand Groudons in a thousand people's eyes, but the one eternal truth is that it can never fly. That is rotation!"
That explanation was basically saying nothing. Even Cynthia put down her pen and looked at him with a gaze full of curiosity and dissatisfaction.
Lumiere, however, seemed to have anticipated this. He looked up at them and continued, "Rotation isn't what I really want to talk about. What I want to tell you is the advanced form of rotation—the Golden Rotation!"
"What? This thing has an advanced version?!" The students were all shocked.
"Of course it does!"
As he spoke, Lumiere took a piece of chalk and drew a golden rectangle on the blackboard, then cut out the largest possible square from it, leaving behind another golden rectangle.
Then he asked, "Everyone understands this diagram, right?"
"A golden rectangle—we learned it once in class."
"Then we cut out another largest square… and repeat the process. This way, we can cut out infinitely many largest squares and golden rectangles!"
As he spoke, Lumiere continued drawing on the blackboard.
All the students—along with Eevee and Rowlet on the podium—stared at his movements with blank expressions.
Using the vertex of a square as the center, Lumiere swung his arm and quickly drew an arc with the chalk, using the side length as the radius.
Then he said, "This arc is one-quarter of a full circle. Since there are infinitely many squares here, it means we can connect and draw infinitely many arcs, forming an inwardly extending spiral within the diagram—and this is the Golden Rotation!"
It sounded incredibly impressive, yet the entire room was dead silent. Even the sound of Rowlet blowing bubbles in its sleep could be heard.
In the end, the front-row student broke the silence and raised his hand. "Teacher, I don't understand. So what does this have to do with Pokémon? We're taking a Pokémon class, not a math class."
Suddenly, Lumiere slammed the blackboard with a heavy smack. All the students felt their hearts jump—Rowlet jolted awake, and Eevee's tail shot straight up, too scared to lose focus.
With a stern expression, he said in a deep voice, "The essence of the Golden Rotation is infinity! Invisible bonds spiral, intertwine, and continuously amplify, symbolizing that the bond between trainer and Pokémon has no upper limit!"
"This determines whether you can successfully use Mega Evolution and Z-Moves! Every trainer capable of using these two powers has, in fact, comprehended and mastered the Golden Rotation!"
At these words, shock flashed across every student's face. No wonder those trainers were so strong—they'd actually grasped such profound knowledge!
Ignoring their astonishment, Lumiere continued, "And when that bond reaches a breakthrough point, the Golden Rotation will also reach its highest realm—the Cavalry Rotation!"
"At that moment, your bond will break through everything and manifest as a tangible effect. Trainer and Pokémon become one in body and mind, needing no medium at all. Using this most perfect Golden Rotation, you achieve Bond Evolution!"
Bond Evolution?!
All the students sucked in a sharp breath!
As his words fell, Lumiere slapped the podium hard with both hands, signaling the end. That was all he had to say—the rest was for them to figure out on their own.
Teaching was all about showmanship. As long as your nonsense could grab their interest and bluff them, anyone would engrave your words deeply into their memory!
"That should do it," Lumiere muttered, letting out a small sigh of relief.
Even he didn't believe half of what he'd said, but the general idea was close enough. At least he hadn't misled them—and the effect was there.
Cynthia held her pen tightly. Snapping out of her shock, she lowered her head and realized she'd completely forgotten to take notes.
Lumiere's pacing had been too good—he'd dragged everyone's emotions along with him, and even she'd been swept up without realizing it.
"Bond Evolution… the highest realm of the Golden Rotation?" Cynthia murmured thoughtfully.
Lumiere never imagined that something he'd made up on the spot purely for show would later be dubbed "Rotation Theory" by Pokémon scholars.
It would also spread widely among trainers as a method for strengthening bonds. Everyone would yearn for the legendary Bond Evolution—but those were stories for another time…
During the noon break, students who had attended the rotation class began practicing and researching all over campus.
Students from other classes and even teachers stopped to watch, wearing puzzled expressions.
After asking what was going on, they all looked shocked, their faces screaming "Are you messing with me?"—especially the teachers.
But after hearing the students repeat Lumiere's words verbatim, those teachers fell into deep thought. By the way… who exactly was this Teacher Lumiere?
When someone went with Rowlet and Eevee to freeload a meal at the cafeteria, Cynthia suddenly came over, seemingly wanting to ask about rotation.
Seeing her about to speak, Lumiere raised a hand to stop her. "Don't ask. If you ask, the answer is: don't overthink it. Rotation is something that forms unconsciously—the more you try to understand it, the harder it is to grasp."
Hearing this, confusion flickered across Cynthia's face. After a moment's thought, she nodded lightly. "I understand!"
Then she smiled faintly and said with interest, "I didn't expect you to be hiding so much. You clearly know quite a lot…"
While grooming Rowlet's feathers, Lumiere smiled back. "I don't know that much. I've just experienced more—that's why I can teach you this class. Everything comes down to experience."
"Experience…" Cynthia nodded, half-understanding, committing it to memory.
After the brief break ended, Lumiere had to continue teaching in the afternoon—but this time, an uninvited guest quietly arrived.
With so many people at school, news traveled fast. Hearing that an outsider named Lumiere had come in to substitute-teach students, the dean of discipline flew into a rage.
But after hearing about this so-called rotation, the dean also fell into deep thought.
As a scholar—and a powerful trainer—this was the first time he'd ever heard of such a thing.
Yet the more he thought about it, the more unfathomable this rotation seemed. It was as if everything was the answer, yet nothing could truly be understood.
After filling several pages of notes in his office, he still couldn't make sense of it. Instead, a strange irritation set in, his powerful thirst for knowledge flooding his mind.
After repeated consideration, he decided to secretly come take a look—just who was this Teacher Lumiere, to have such insights?!
At that moment, the dean stood quietly by the classroom window, perfectly positioned.
Unless students in the back were slacking off, no one inside would notice him.
He leaned slightly to the side, peeking toward the podium…
There he saw Lumiere holding up a sheet of paper covered in random scribbles by Rowlet and Eevee. Then he spread it flat and raised it.
"Grinding mindlessly doesn't work. Memorizing things by rote is all fake—it isn't real. It only helps you get through school. Just like this piece of paper, it's a mess. Once you're out there, you'll realize it's completely useless."
"So when you graduate in two years, you should throw all this stuff into the trash and start learning again from zero!"
With that, Lumiere crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into the nearby trash can. The students below listened intently—no one questioned these outrageous words.
"???" The dean stood there dumbfounded. "What the hell is he even teaching?!"