Maxie is the head of Team Magma. In Pokémon Sapphire, Maxie helps the player against Team Aqua. He does not have an active role in the storyline and cannot be battled.
In Pokémon Ruby and their remakes, he first appears in the Oceanic Museum in Slateport City, trying to steal the Devon Goods from Captain Stern. Later, Team Magma members steal a Meteorite from Professor Cozmo in Meteor Falls, and use it to try to cause Mt. Chimney to erupt. Then, after CourtneyR/TabithaOR raids the Weather Institute, Maxie steals the BlueR/Red OrbOR from Mt. Pyre. Later, he and the Team Magma members turn up in Slateport again as Captain Stern announces a discovery he has made about a seafloor cavern. Team Magma promptly steals the Submarine Explorer 1 that Captain Stern has built and goes for the Seafloor Cavern to awaken Groudon.
In Pokémon Emerald, Maxie tries again to dry Mt. Chimney's lava pool via the meteorite from Meteor Falls, but this time he is looking for Groudon inside the volcano. After this first, unsuccessful attempt, Maxie sends Team Magma members to make a secret hideout inside the volcano, where he finally awakens Groudon using the Blue Orb stolen at Mt. Pyre. However he loses the control over the legendary Pokémon. Later Team Magma raids the Mossdeep Space Center, trying to use the rocket fuel to make Mt. Chimney erupt. The protagonist comes just in time to stop him, but as Tabitha is teaming up with Maxie, Steven is forced to team up with the player to stop Team Magma. When defeated a third time, Maxie sees the error of his ways, later disbanding Team Magma and attempting to stop Groudon and Kyogre's fight.
Maxie's role in the games differs slightly. In Ruby and Emerald, Maxie is regularly disdainful and resentful for the player's constant interference throughout, choosing to flee often rather than further justify or persuade the player of their team's sincerity. Even in the end, upon returning the Blue Orb, he simply states that nature is not for humanity's interference in any regard, before saying a final farewell to the player. In Emerald, he stops to come back towards the player, but is unable to get past first addressing them, either out of respect or guilt. In Omega, Maxie's character is vastly expanded upon. A calculating strategist, he still maintains a cold demeanor and sense of overconfidence, but carries with him a distinct respect for the player as well, recognizing them as part of humanity's future, and is increasingly impressed with both their willpower and strength. Upon the defeat of Primal Groudon, this respect evolves into a profound affection for the player, entrusting him with both the Red Orb, and eventually his Cameruptite, as well as free entrance to visit their hideout. He also resolves to stay and reform Team Magma's ideals for benevolent purposes, rather than disappearing forever out of shame.
In Omega, the player once again squares off against Maxie, who has defeated Team Aqua's leader Archie in battle. Upon defeating him, Maxie jovially congratulates the player for their perseverance before preparing to awaken Groudon. However, Tabitha, who has learned of Groudon's potential risk to the world's natural balance, suddenly dashes in begging Maxie to stop, to which the Magma Leader disdainfully dismisses as part of his rumored attempt to usurp him in leadership. Awakening Groudon, the beast suddenly bursts through the cave's surface, and the Drought ability begins to parch Hoenn drastically. At first, Maxie is delighted, anticipating his plans to be finally in fruition. However, he soon finds himself horrified to discover that not only are the levels of sun hotter than he anticipated, but that activating Groudon's Desolate Land ability could push the heat to unbearably lethal levels for all above the surface. Guilt-ridden, he heads to Sootopolis to meet the player there, and expresses a profound apology for his hubris. Entrusting the player with saving them, he has Tabitha equip them with the Magma Suit to endure the magma's heat in the center of the Cave of Origin and to communicate with the player upon meeting Groudon.
Upon Groudon's defeat or capture, the energy amassed in the Cave's jewels emit a green beam skyward, which casts an emerald spectrum of falling lights across the region. Maxie, profoundly affected by the experience, is at first hesitant to accept Archie's offer to start over, believing himself unworthy of redemption. However, Tabitha (in a somewhat brutally blunt moment), while agreeing with Maxie's self-assessment, nonetheless encourages him to at least try, and that atonement is a key part of responsibility, offering his continued loyalty from that point onward. Softly thanking his Admin, Maxie willingly relinquishes the Red Orb to the player, entrusting them with Groudon's Primal power, and departs with Archie to begin their mutual reformation. During the Delta Episode, Maxie is confronted in the Magma Hideout by one of his fromer grunts, Zinnia, who is thieving Key Stones in order to summon and empower Rayquaza with Mega Evolution. When his Key Stone is stolen, he entrusts the player with his Cameruptite to stop Zinnia's apparent rampage. When the world is spared from the meteor, Maxie summons Courtney to his quarters, where she tearfully apologizes for her recklessness. Shocked by the sight of his normally stoic Admin crying, Maxie agrees to forgive her on one condition...she forgive his actions and conduct, recognizing that coupled with the fallout of their plans for Groudon, drove her into despair. He explains his intent to start over the principles of Team Magma, having learned the importance of understanding and working with even those he disagrees with, to which she agrees. He welcomes the player to visit them in their hideout anytime, taking on the role of a friend to them. This friendship even extends to being available to partner with them in the Battle Maison's Multi Battle mode.
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