Lounging around Lumiose
They arrive in Lumiose in a week and a half, just as scheduled. The first thing they do once they get there is head straight to Clemont and Bonnie's house. Bonnie's insistent upon this, because she really wants to introduce Korrina to Meyer as Clemont's girlfriend. However, she's quick to stop saying that when Clemont threatens to introduce Max as Bonnie's boyfriend. But Korrina still wants to meet Meyer, so Clemont agrees, much to Bonnie's pleasure.
As it turns out, Meyer is overjoyed to hear Clemont's news. He grips his son in a bear hug and rubs his head with his knuckle, laughing as he does. "So, I see Bonnie was successful in her quest after all!" he laughs, which Max, Bonnie, Korrina, and Megan join in on. Meyer lets Clemont go and looks at his daughter. He notices how close together she and Max are standing, and smirks. "And I see you found someone for yourself Bon." Clemont roars with laughter at this as Max and Bonnie go red in the face and spring apart.
Once the two clear up that they aren't dating, everyone follows Meyer inside the house. He and Clemont whip up some lunch for them all, while Bonnie and Max let their pokémon out of their balls to stretch their legs. Megan has a look around the house, marvelling at some of the tech they had in the house. Korrina hangs around the kitchen, marvelling at Clemonts skill at cooking. Everyone does their own thing until the food is ready. While sitting around the table, Bonnie fills Meyer in on her being an Aura Guardian, and on the antics she and Max have gotten up to on the road. They all agreed before seeing Meyer that they'd leave the details of the Jade Orb out of their conversations.
Once they're finished eating, Bonnie practically drags Max out to Lumiose to help her find Ash. She remembers him promising to tell her more about Aura when they get to Lumiose, so she wants to find him as soon as possible so she can get some better advice on how to connect with other people and pokémon's Aura. But they can't find him. The two even split up to cover more ground, but he's nowhere to be found.
Eventually giving up, the two decide to head into the nearest pokémon centre and use one of the phones they have there. Bonnie quickly dialled the number to Serena's mother's place, hoping that Ash would pick up again. However, it was Serena who did so. "Hello," she says pleasantly. "Nice to speak with you Bonnie." "You too," Bonnie replies, trying to hide her disappointment. "By the way, is Ash there?" Serena's face saddened. "Unfortunately, he had to leave," she says sadly. "The Pokémon League called him away back to Galar. Apparently, there's something going on that requires his attention." Bonnie swears quietly, which Serena notices. "You wanted to speak with him about Aura, didn't you?" she asked. Bonnie doesn't even try to deny it. "Well," Serena replies, "he should be back within a month. You can talk to him then." Bonnie smiles and thanks her, before ending the call with a promise to pay her a visit at some point.
As she and Max are about to leave, they run into Megan. "Oh hey," she says. "What are you doing here?" Max asks. "Clemont told me he's going to bring me around the Kalos power plant and Lumiose Gym," she explains. "So, I just came here to call my brother to tell him the news!" Bonnie beams at her. "Congrats on getting it," she tells her. "I'm sure you'll do well." Megan smiles at her, then heads over to one of the phones. Max and Bonnie watch her go, before heading back out to Lumiose.
When Megan's done calling her brother, Clemont takes her up to the power station to show her around. Korrina, Max, and Bonnie decide to tag along, because Korrina wants to spend as much time with Clemont as possible, and Max is very curious about how it works. Bonnie doesn't want to be left alone, so she goes along with them. Clemont shows Megan and the others everything of note in the power plant. Max is amazed by all of the technology around the place, and how it all works so seamlessly to keep the lights on all over Kalos. "Science is so amazing!" he says to himself, which makes Bonnie laugh. "What's so funny?" he asks her. "Oh nothing," she tells him. "It's just that, Ash used to say that every time Clemont pulled out a new contraption."
Eventually, Clemont brings them all to the top of the power plant. Max is astounded by the massive energy core sitting on the top. But he's more curious about why the security around the power plant and Gym is so tight. When he asks Clemont this, he darkens. "Because it was broken into before," he explains. "A group of people who believed they needed to set the world right broke in here and almost destroyed the whole region." He shudders at the memory, as does Bonnie. Max remembers seeing that on the news and decides not to press it.
Once the tour is finished, Megan is shown where she will be needed, and is told that she'll be starting tomorrow. Megan thanks him, then leaves to do her own thing until then. Max and Bonnie decide to stay another day in Lumiose and then leave the next morning. So, while Korrina and Clemont head out to a nice restaurant in Lumiose, Max and Bonnie head into one of the parks. It's the evening by this time, and there aren't many people here. Meaning, Bonnie can try again to see other people's Aura. At first, the pair try to see if she can see his Aura, but after what feels like hours of nothing, though in actual fact it was only 5 minutes, they decide to try something else.
Their next plan is to have her try to see Dedenne's Aura. Their reasoning for why this could work is that Dedenne has been by Bonnie's side for the past four years, whilst she's only known Max for just under 5 months. Dedenne is also a lot smaller than Max, and almost definitely has a more one-track mind than Max does. But also, though Bonnie never told him this, thinking about Dedenne doesn't make her insides feel all funny the way thinking about Max does.
Now with an easier target, she tries again. She focuses on Dedenne, and tries to feel that he's next to her, without actually reaching out to him. Soon, after another long time, though once again only 5 minutes, she finally sees a small bit of blue. She gets excited and focuses on it. As she does, it gets brighter. She opens her eyes excitedly, and it disappears. "Max, I did it!" she shouts. Max had been starting to fall asleep from boredom, but hearing Bonnie's shout wakes him up. "That's great Bonnie!" he shouts back. The two decide to celebrate her success by going to eat in a restaurant, making sure to choose a different one to Clemont and Korrina, otherwise Bonnie will never hear the end of it.
But soon enough, the morning comes, and it is time for Max and Bonnie to head on their way. Clemont, Korrina, and Meyer are there to see them off. Megan had started work that morning, so she couldn't make it. As they travel to the next route, Bonnie excitedly tells them about her finally succeeding in sensing Aura, which earns her praise from her family. Once they reached the outskirts of Lumiose, Clemont, Korrina, and Meyer stop. "Well, have fun on the rest of your journey," Meyer says. "Be sure to come to see me when you return here for your battle against Clemont!" Bonnie nods eagerly. "We will!" she says. "Be sure to hurry back!" Korrina calls. "I want to be here to watch your match!" Max nods and waves. Clemonts grins and is about to address Max, but Bonnie notices in time and quickly pulls him away. "Goodbye!" she shouts quickly, much to Clemont's amusement. Max stops trying to resist Bonnie's tugs and just goes along with her, as the two continue on their journey to Coumarine.