Tony's question was answered by J.A.R.V.I.S., whose voice sounded in the room.
J.A.R.V.I.S.: "Sir, there appears to be a firewall in that bedroom. I can't break through it to detect what's happening inside."
"What?" Tony was startled and frowned.
Ever since Nick Fury's unexpected visit, Tony had upgraded the villa's entire security system, making sure J.A.R.V.I.S. could monitor everything. Still, for private spaces like bedrooms and bathrooms, J.A.R.V.I.S. needed Tony's authorization to do any surveillance.
But right after **Pichu** entered the room, J.A.R.V.I.S. suddenly lost connection—and couldn't get through the new firewall at all.
Tony took pride in his AI's capabilities—globally, there were very few networks J.A.R.V.I.S. couldn't infiltrate if Tony wanted him to. Even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s systems could be compromised temporarily for information gathering.
Most of what Tony knew about Pichu came from J.A.R.V.I.S. hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D. databases after Tony found out Pichu had ties to them.
But now, J.A.R.V.I.S. couldn't even access a room in his own home.
Tony's curiosity spiked. Still, remembering Pichu's warning, he suppressed the urge to investigate. Pichu had asked for privacy, and Tony didn't want to risk angering him.
After all, Tony had already witnessed Pichu's strength before: just one bolt of golden lightning, as thick as a thumb, had blown a chunk out of a tree trunk as wide as a bowl and turned it to ashes.
But that wasn't even Pichu's full power. When he really unleashed his electric shock, the lightning was as thick as a wrist.
J.A.R.V.I.S. had run calculations: a maximum-power electric shock from Pichu would produce terrifying results—temperatures up to 400 degrees Celsius, currents reaching 3000 amperes, and voltages nearly 200,000 volts.
Pichu didn't care much about J.A.R.V.I.S.'s data.
His electric shock wasn't just raw electricity either; it contained mysterious energy that couldn't be measured by simple numbers.
Tony muttered:
"Growing up… he means evolving, doesn't he?"
Tony shook his head and returned to his laboratory, curiosity burning.
He started designing a new suit of armor: one resistant to lightning attacks and able to absorb external electricity for power.
For some reason, Tony had a feeling this would be useful one day.
Time slowly passed.
That evening, Pepper arrived at the villa.
Not seeing Pichu, she glanced at Tony, puzzled:
"Tony, where's Pichu?"
For the last three months, Pichu had basically spent every day in the living room.
Whenever Pepper came by, she'd see him there—and he'd still been around at lunch. Why was he gone just a few hours later?
"He's growing…" Tony said, remembering Pichu's words.
"Growing up?" Pepper was surprised. Then she remembered how Pichu had been absorbing electricity for months.
Given Pichu's strange powers—three months together and he hadn't hidden anything—she'd even seen the video of Pichu fighting both Hulk and the Abomination.
So Pepper knew that, for all his cute, doll-like appearance, Pichu was incredibly powerful.
Hearing Tony say Pichu was "growing," Pepper immediately guessed he was probably getting even stronger.
After discussing Stark Industries business with Tony, Pepper left. She handled most things day-to-day. Tony left the final decisions to her, but she still consulted him on major items, getting his approval before acting.
After Pepper left, Tony went back to the lab.
Mark IV was already in production, but his newest idea—the portable Mark V armor—was still just on paper. It would take a lot of time and effort to build.
Inspired by Pichu, Tony suddenly wanted to develop armor that could withstand lightning and absorb external electricity as energy. Even for a genius, it couldn't be done overnight. Every innovation required countless trials and failures.
As Tony continued research in the lab, Pichu remained in a deep sleep—still evolving.
Dusk gave way to night.
Stars sparkled overhead; a crescent moon hung in the sky, its brilliance mixing with the glow of the city below.
In the villa's bedroom, the golden light cocoon surrounding Pichu was much bigger than before.
The electric arcs had vanished, and the cocoon's light was gradually fading.
Particles of golden light floated out, filling the air with a dazzling shine—like stars forming a beautiful new galaxy.
The cocoon finally faded away: it was clear that Pichu's evolution was about to finish.
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