There once was a boy in Slateport who possessed impressive perseverance. His unwillingness to give up on a difficult task, school assignment or really any challenge was acknowledged by all who knew him. At the age of 10, the boy was known as an unstoppable force. His parents, however, failed to take notice of it. Day in and day out, they would fling insults, and sometimes more than that at their son, berating him without cause. Wrongly convinced he was the cause of their unhappiness, the boy did all he could to please them.
He did all his chores, some unsafe for a child. He did his best in school, struggling to make good grades, yet doing just well enough to obtain passable marks. He excelled in his school's soccer team, becoming the captain and being a key part to many of their victories.
His parents never attended a single game, nor acknowledged any of the tireless work he did. It appeared that everyone else could tell this was the case—except for him. In spite of his parent's blatant dismissal of his hard work and achievements, he refused to give up on the idea that he could make them happy.
One night, though, his tenacity got noticed.
The three Lake Guardians, Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie each bestowed a gift upon mankind long ago. Azelf, being the embodiment of willpower, sensed this source of ironclad resolve. In fact, every once in a while strong-willed people would appear. Resolve that would drown the world or scorch it, reach for eternity, raise up heroes and give rise to guardians attracted Azelf, and it would accordingly reward them with a piece of it's essence.
Naturally, then, Azelf was drawn to the boy's spirit and arrived upon the sleeping figure of the child. Admiring his resolute spirit, it decided to bestow upon him a portion of its very essence, willpower. Gently patting the boy over his heart, the deed was done, and Azelf departed as silently as it had appeared.
The child's Pokemon and only true friend saw it all unfold.
The boy's Gardevoir watched the trail of events that unfolded after Azelf's unexpected visit. It seemed that his unwavering spirit was no longer self contained. The children in his class no longer dreaded tests or assignments, but rather kept looking for the solution until they got it
right, and their grades went up as a result. The soccer team came back from several near-losses and became popular within the school's halls.
The child's persistence was infectious to all…
Except for his parents.
It's impossible to say what the malfunction was with the two of them. Even with a son gifted an extra measure of willpower was not enough to affect them in any way. All his life, their son learned that he could achieve almost anything if he kept at it. Almost anything. For a whole 'nother year after Azelf's visit, they remained unmoved by their son's attempts to cause a change of heart, with no success.
The boy learned defeat.
This was not the same as the defeat of losing a soccer game, or getting a low score on a test. This was different. For the first time ever, he gave up.
The boy decided to run away from home. No matter how much Gardevoir tried to reason with him, it was no use. Having such an unyielding personality sometimes had its downsides. The child made it very clear that he was leaving, with or without her. Though Gardevoir did not like this plan at all, she couldn't allow him to go all by himself.
The boy looked around his room for the last time. The chipped paint on the walls in the drafty space flitted up and down as if to wave goodbye. The warped wooden floorboards creaked their farewells and a corner of the ceiling leaked its tears. The bed, looking softer than ever somehow despite being anything but almost seemed to beckon the boy to rest and forget this plan; However, that would not be happening.
With nothing more than 10,000 Pokedollars, a few snacks and some poffins for Gardevoir, the pair crept out of the rusted window and made their way towards Slateport's harbors. Getting aboard one of the large ships by employing Gardevoir's abilities, they sailed off into an uncertain future.
In his first move at taking control of his future, the boy abandoned his name in place of a new one.
Umbra.