The Family
Headcanon Post! Since we don't know about Maxie's parents, I've had to invent his family background wholecloth. If my headcanon doesn't match yours, consider it part of the AU.
Parents:
Maxie has a father, Reese Malachite and a mother, Sofia Malachite (nee Ayose) both living and married to each other, in Lavaridge. He grew up there in their house on the outskirts of town. Although Reese's father had left the family when Reese was a baby, he was a more than decent father, working long shifts as a geologist and crafting toys from the spare rocks for his son. He took special interest, not in his son's education, but in his happiness, periodically taking his off days to spend time with his son. From him Maxie learned everything he knows about Fire, Rock and Ground types, and though his father was never a great competitive battler, he remains intensely proud of his son to this day.
Sofia was always a good mother to Maxie, as both a stay at home mom and later part of the defense team repelling Team Sky from their area. She is very gentle, non-confrontational and sweet, but with an incredible streak of strength hidden underneath. Her husband once described her as "nice - until it's time not to be nice". Considering this is a trait shared by his sisters, it can be assumed Reese married her for this specific reason. Her team of Pokemon is a mixture without any one particular type tying them together. Though she drilled her son on the value of school and education, after he left it to fight Team Sky her objection was more his safety than his degree. Though she worries about her family and is the first to find flaws in their plans, she is highly supportive of her son's choice to lead the charge against Team Sky.
Siblings:
Maxie is the oldest of five, although the rest of his family would claim it was four. The oldest of his siblings, Seth, has joined Team Sky and thus made himself the black Mareep of the family. Seth is very conflicted person. He has some deep seated anger towards his father, who he feels favored Maxie unfairly, and Maxie himself, who he sees as the overachiever of the family. Despite this, when he was confronted by Maxie directly in a battle between Team Magma and Team Sky, Seth couldn't bring himself to kill his brother, instead choosing to use a flash grenade on him and flee. Unfortunately, the close proximity caused permanent damage to Maxie's eyes. Despite this, Maxie holds onto the hope that underneath the anger, hurting vaneer his cheerful little brother still lurks, waiting to be redeemed. It would help if the rest of their family was actually trying to redeem Seth, though, instead of letting it be Maxie's job.
His brother Luxor, on the other hand, took the easier option: cut and run. When Team Sky gained more power, the young geologist went and offered his services to a Sinnoh company in need of his knowledge. He now lives in the lap of luxury out in Veilstone City. Although not totally heartless - he sends his family money and support - he is addicted to the spoils of under the table work, and is involved in trading evolutionary stones to people hush-hush. He's always been a smart aleck, secretive and somewhat greedy, but make no mistake: his greatest wish is for his brother to come to Sinnoh and allow his eyes to be treated by the best doctors Luxor can buy. His heart is in the right place, even if he's making some bad choices, and he's repeatedly tried to get into contact with Seth to talk some sense into him. A trainer of Rock and Dark types, Luxor is both a good friend and a constant annoyance to those who know him.
His sister Jude is a Pokemon Breeder. She has her own ranch near Mauville, where she works happily, mostly oblivious to the world's problems. Unlike her siblings, she's chosen not to get involved in anything too big, preferring to chase her dreams above all else. She breeds several Egg groups' worth of Pokemon, grows her own Berries and is an extraordinarily hard worker. It's this strength and determination to keep going that makes her so optimistic and cheerful. That said, she took the news of Maxie's condition very poorly, and refuses to talk to Seth as a result. Rather than confronting anyone, she tends to just withdraw into her work. She lacks the real anger to hate her brother, but she can't accept this is what's become of Hoenn, so she stays out of the war zone and where she can avoid the harshness of reality, keeping her hands and mind busy.
Severin is the latest, unexpected addition to the Malachite family. At seven years old he has a thirteen year gap between him and his oldest brother. Small, but endlessly curious and in love with the world of Contests, he's a sensitive, soft spoken child with big eyes and a bigger heart. He idolizes Maxie and Luxor, but doesn't understand Seth at all. He doesn't like the way his mother and Jude are trying to pretend Seth isn't part of their family, and has nothing but love for all of them. A peace keeper and a dreamer, all he wants is for everybody to be happy. Gentle and kind to even scary Pokemn, he's befriended a Duskull as his starter simply by feeding it and reading it stories. He's more in tune with Psychic, Ghost and Dark types than other children, lacking any fear of them, and may turn out to be a remarkable Trainer when he's older.
Aunts:
While his mother was an only child, Maxie's father has two sisters, both of whom are very much the doting aunt archetype. Nothing is more hilarious than watching the mighty and tough head of Team Magma get hugged by his dimunitive Aunt Monica, nor is there anything better than seeing him teased by his affection Aunt Nadine. There's an adorableness to family get togethers that pretty much kill his tough badass image.
Monica, Reese's older sister, went to work in the coal mine in Lavaridge after their mother died when she was twelve. Her brother was ten and her sister was four; she was left as sole provider and lied on the age forms to get into work. She went out before the sun rose and came back after the sun set, every day, for years. When that wasn't enough to put Reese and Nadine through college she took up being a waitress at a diner in-town in addition. Her unyielding work ethic kept the family afloat. She was strict, harsh and sometimes overly angry, snapping at her sibling, but when all was said and done they ultimately thanked her for her effort.
She's short, thin, and doesn't look like much, yet she is a supremely tough woman. She has one Pokemon, a Camerupt, who she has successfully leveled all the way up to Level 89. This woman will do anything to protect her family, and formed a defense force of Lavaridge residents to fend off Team Sky as they rose to prominence. Unfortunately her inability to know when she needs to back down has led to lung problems from her work environment and unending hours. Loving underneath the layers of hardness, Monica treasures her niece and nephews, but will also tell them off more readily than their actual parents.
Nadine is pretty much the embodiment of the energetic Fire type user stereotype. Who's cheering at the TV despite being a grown adult, cleaning the entire house on a whim and operating on three hours of sleep? Nadine. A pediatrician, she's in touch with her inner child and a lover of all the Pokemon and children on Earth. Even the Water types. Always on the move, never truly depressed and never defeated, she's the family cheerleader. She pushes everyone towards their dreams, chases her own and lives on her own little world. This backfires in that she's never able to hold down a relationship for long. She also can't bring herself to get in the middle of any kind of family fight, which hasn't made her anyone's favorite.
Her constant need to be optimistic is often mistaken as childishness or a lack of intelligence, but if there's a single member of the Malachite family you don't want to piss off, this is her. It will take a lot to make her unleash her Pokemon on anyone, but with their lightning speeds and TM'd movepool, any one of them is a powerhouse. Beware the nice ones.