silvery locks are slicked back on his head, pressed against it with all the hair gel he could muster this morning. the suit he adorns is snug where it needs to be. the pant legs do not pool at his feet too much. he looks perfectly presentable for the public to see him in this position for the first time. he looks like a face worth trusting.

it's the least gilbert valeria can do when the rest of their world seems to be crumbling around them.

while the others sit in their lounge chairs, gilbert stands -- he does so when he's nervous, trying to recall his speech. even though he's given dozens of public speeches, appeared in numerous tournaments, and has finally joined the war effort by giving thalia black the liberty to conduct any and all necessary research at the mossdeep space center, gilbert feels out of place. less bloodied, less scarred, he has not bore the same strifes as the rest of them. he has done very little to prove that he belongs here, and yet here he is.

another man with another speech about something he's hardly experienced.

fernando breaks the silence, his anxiety about the situation dimly apparent beneath the question. gilbert's eyes flash from silph's to kim's, the man who will decidedly speak first. unlike the other two, he knows very little about kim cole other than the fact that he has garnered considerable respect from league officers. the superficial words that come from him do not reflect this, but gilbert nods in agreement. "sure, makes enough sense. i guess it doesn't matter though!" the polite tone that often coats his words is present in tenfold today. the last thing he wants to do is step on any toes before their joint leadership even begins.

"i feel like we're waiting for our number in the talent show or something. and that people are going to hate us at first no matter how this goes."

kim cole-essam FERNANDO SILPH thalia black

gilbert nods at silph in response, a slight frown paired with pinched in eyebrows to confirm that he agrees with him regarding his point. he knows this, understands this, and feels like his words are being warped for a curt response. "of course." he responds politely, watching kim walk over into the spotlight for a moment by himself. gilbert allows his gaze to linger on fernando for a moment as he watches kim from behind the curtain. his eyes fall down upon the man's entire frame, searching for any hostility toward him.

to imply that gilbert's intentions are not pure, especially in his and kim's midst, irks the mossdeep native deeply enough to seize the moment to clarify. "fernando, i just want to make it clear; i'm here for the benefit of hoenn. and i'll help out however i need to." he refuses to be meek in the presence of someone with such a defined edge to him, and allows for response from fernando but is not given enough time from kim.

upon hearing his name from the stage, gilbert steps away from silph and into the limelight where the crowd claps for both him and kim cole. "hello, everyone. it's an honor to be here. as mr. cole said, i am gilbert valeria of mossdeep city," his eyes land on a few city council members from his hometown and he offers them a slight smile.

"as you all know, kim will be our primary representative in commissioner goode's absence. i am thrilled to be working in conjunction with him and our other council members to combat the challenges our nation is currently facing, and i assure you that each one of us will be giving it our full effort to promise a better future for everyone in hoenn," some claps interrupt him, and he smiles again. his grin lets on modesty, even if it is practiced in a setting such as this. he puts up a hand to quell their applause.

"i will be responsible for a lot of the internal affairs of the league. a lot of the issues with our day-to-day functionality, such as missing gym leaders and newly appointed ones, will come through me. even with external threats, we must be sure to keep our own gears turning, so to speak. and i must say, it's one of the few things i can surely say that i am good at!" the humble joke earns a chuckle from the collective crowd; gilbert takes the opportunity to gesture to the side of the stage.

"here's the fantastic fernando silph!"

kim cole-essam FERNANDO SILPH