Frequently asked questions

This is a list of frequently asked questions about Pixelmon. The questions are distributed into different sections based on the topics that they are related to.

To avoid redundancy with other articles, questions that can be easily answered by searching a related search term on the wiki will not be listed here. For example, "How do I make Poké Balls?" can be answered by searching "Poké Balls" on the wiki.

Questions

Installation

These questions relate to the initial installation of Pixelmon.

Do I need to use the Pixelmon launcher to play Pixelmon?

The Pixelmon launcher is not required to play Pixelmon. It provides a simplified method for installing Pixelmon and its sidemods, but the normal Minecraft launcher can also be used to play. The Pixelmon mod will function exactly the same regardless of which installation method is used.

Is there a Pixelmon launcher for Mac OS X?

There is no Pixelmon launcher version for Mac OS X. For the time being, no developers who work on the Pixelmon launcher use Mac OS X, so a ported version is not planned at this time. The normal Minecraft launcher can still be used to play Pixelmon on Mac OS X.

Minecraft crashes on start-up after I install Pixelmon! How do I fix this?

There are several different issues that may cause Minecraft to crash upon start-up. First, refer to this guide for a list of common issues with your system that may be causing the crash. If the guide does not resolve this issue, post the issue in Pixelmon's support tracker.

Minecraft never finishes loading/Minecraft is very laggy after installing Pixelmon! Can I fix this?

Most likely you don't have enough RAM allocated to Minecraft.

• If you are using the Minecraft launcher, find the JVM arguments in the Minecraft profile, find the "-Xmx512M" or "-Xmx1G" argument and change it to "-Xmx2G".
• If you are using the Pixelmon launcher, select the gear icon in the top-right corner of the main screen and adjust the allocated RAM there.

If this still doesn't work, you may have to upgrade your Java installation or your operating system from a 32-bit version to a 64-bit version in order to allocate more RAM.

I'm getting an error message saying my Java version is out-of-date, but I have Java 8? What does this mean?

If you have multiple versions of Java installed on your system, make sure that [i]Minecraft[/i] is using your Java 8 installation (this can be modified by the "Executable" setting in your profile settings. Alternatively, uninstall all of your older Java versions to force [i]Minecraft[/i] to use Java 8.

Why can't I open my inventory after installing Pixelmon?

The Technic launcher is incompatible with Pixelmon and causes this issue. Use the Minecraft launcher or the Pixelmon launcher instead. This incompatibility will not be fixed.

Mod

These questions relate to the Pixelmon mod itself.

Can you add this Pokémon into the mod?

Eventually, the goal is to have all 649 Pokémon up to Generation 5 implemented in Pixelmon. However, this cannot happen in an instant; Pokémon need models, textures, and animations in order to be implemented. In particular, the Pixelmon team has very few animators, so the addition of Pokémon is limited by the pace at which the animators can animate Pokémon models.

Do not ask for a specific Pokémon to be implemented if you are not going to contribute to the implementation of it. The suggestion will not influence the Pixelmon team's decisions in any way and will be ignored.

Can you update this Pokémon's model? It looks really blocky compared to other models!

Several Pokémon models were made before the Pixelmon developers adopted their current standards of modeling and animation. These outdated models will eventually be updated, but like adding new Pokémon, an updated Pokémon requires a model, textures, and animations. Also similar to adding new Pokémon, the speed at which animators can animate the models is the bottleneck when it comes to updating Pokémon.

Do not ask for a Pokémon to be updated if you are not going to contribute to the implementation of it. The suggestion will not influence the Pixelmon team's decisions in any way and will be ignored.

Can you add this feature from Generation 6?

No features from Generation 6 will be added into Pixelmon until Generation 7 is released, including Generation 6 Pokémon, Mega Evolution, and certain battle mechanics changes. The Pixelmon team has chosen to limit the mod's scope to one Generation behind (Generation 5 in this case) the current Pokémon Generation out of respect for the creators of Pokémon.

There are a few features from Generation 6, including breeding mechanics, changed Abilities, and the Wonder Trade sidemod, that are in Pixelmon. These are not precedents for future additions from Generation 6.

There's a bug in the mod! Where do I ask the Pixelmon team to fix it?

First, be sure that the issue is actually a bug with Pixelmon. If your "bug" is simply being unable to play the mod at all, such as the game crashing upon starting up, first refer to this guide for a list of common issues with your system that may be causing the crash. If the guide does not resolve this issue, post the issue in Pixelmon's support tracker.

If you are sure that the issue is actually a bug with Pixelmon and not an error in your installation, post it on Pixelmon's issue tracker. It is imperative that you provide as much detail about the bug as possible, especially steps on how to reproduce the bug on a fresh Pixelmon world. If the bug resulted in a crash report or a console error, make sure to post the error as well. If the Pixelmon team cannot reproduce the bug or figure out what is causing it, the bug cannot be fixed.

What Generation are battle mechanics based on?

Battle mechanics derive from Generation 5. This means that certain Generation 6 mechanics, such as modified mechanics with Knock Off, Defog, and the sleep status, are not present in Pixelmon. These Generation 6 mechanics will not be introduced into Pixelmon until Generation 7 is released.

What are the boxes in the upper-right corner of the screen?

The box on the right is for your Pokémon's external moves.

The box on the left is a targeting system. If you have one of your Pokémon sent out and you are looking at a wild Pokémon, you can press the hotkey indicated in the box to have your Pokémon chase the wild Pokémon and initiate a battle against it.

What is the icon in the lower-right corner of the screen?

This is a feature within Pixelmon that allows the displayed hotkey to either open up the Pokédex, the Pixelmon wiki, or the Minecraft wiki.

• If you are looking at a Pokémon, the Pokédex will be opened, displaying that Pokémon's Pokédex entry.
• If you are holding an item and not looking at a Pokémon, the item's page on the Pixelmon wiki or the Minecraft wiki will be opened in your browser.
• If you are looking at a block while not holding an item, the block's page on the Pixelmon wiki or the Minecraft wiki will be opened in your browser.
• If you are not holding an item and not looking at a Pokémon, the Pokédex will be opened.

When will the next update come out?

The Pixelmon team releases updates for Pixelmon whenever the team feels that there is enough new content to justify a release. This means that there is no structured release schedule for Pixelmon versions. However, progress updates on upcoming versions can be viewed on the Pixelmon news page.

Will Pixelmon for Minecraft 1.7.10 ever receive updates anymore?

Pixelmon for Minecraft 1.7.10 is a legacy Pixelmon version that will no longer receive updates; the vast majority of new features from the Minecraft 1.8 versions of Pixelmon, such as external moves, most new Pokémon, and double battles, will not be ported back to Minecraft 1.7.10.

Can I add Pixelmon to a modpack?

If you are making a modpack to distribute publicly, you are not allowed to add Pixelmon to it directly. The Pixelmon team has provided multiple alternatives to this:

• Use Pixpacks in conjunction with the Pixelmon launcher.
• Use the Pixelmon Preloader sidemod to require users to download Pixelmon from the Pixelmon website before using the modpack.
• Tell users to download and install Pixelmon separately after installing the modpack.

Can I change the biomes Pokémon spawn in?

The Spawn of Psyduck sidemod allows Pokémon spawn biomes and spawn times to be modified.

Is it possible to disable natural spawning of Pokémon and allow Pokémon to only be spawned with Pixelmon spawners?

This is possible by editing the Pixelmon config file. Find the "spawnDimensions" setting and remove the Overworld (0) from the list.

Website

These questions are related to parts of the Pixelmon website, such as the Pixelmon forums.

How do I link my Minecraft account with my Pixelmon forum account?

Go to your Pixelmon forum profile (user control panel) and edit your account settings. Near the bottom of the page, there is a Minecraft account settings section where you can enter your Minecraft and Pixelmon forum account passwords to link the accounts.

If you are unable to link your account, first check that your e-mail addresses on your Minecraft and Pixelmon forum accounts match exactly; if not, you will have to change one or the other so that they match.

If the addresses are matching and you still cannot link your account, you may need to migrate your Minecraft account to a Mojang account, which can be done here.

I've donated to the mod. Why don't I have access to a Pixelmon sash yet?

If you've just donated, wait for a few minutes so that the system is able to process your donation and give you access to the Pixelmon sash.

Once this is done, your account will gain a "donator" status; your Pixelmon forum username will be colored purple when you post on the forum and you will gain a "Donator" title. If you have no forum posts to verify this, you can also check your status by navigating to the "Statistics" section on the main forum page (near the bottom) and toggling the arrow next to the number of users online. A list will be displayed that will allow you to find your username and check its status.

If you have verified that you have donator status and still don't have access to the Pixelmon sash, there are a couple of reasons this may be the case:

• Make sure your Minecraft and Pixelmon forum accounts are linked. If you are unsure of how to do this, follow these instructions.
• If you have OptiFine, remove it. OptiFine's changes to Minecraft's rendering system prevent the Pixelmon sash from appearing.

If you don't have donator status after waiting for more than a few minutes, or if you have donator status and the above instructions did not resolve the issue, post a support ticket here.

How do I attach log files or text files to a bug or support ticket?

Currently, you are not able to attach these files to tickets on the Pixelmon forums. As an alternative, you can post the contents of the files on Pastebin and link the resulting paste in your ticket.

Development

These questions relate to developing for Pixelmon.

How do I access the Pixelmon source files?

Pixelmon is closed source. In order to access Pixelmon's source, you will have to apply to be a Pixelmon developer here.

Can I develop a sidemod for Pixelmon?

Pixelmon is closed source. In order to access Pixelmon's source to make a sidemod, you will have to apply to be a Pixelmon developer here with the expectation that you will allow the sidemod to be publicly available. Privately developed sidemods are frowned upon by the Pixelmon team as they do nothing to help the Pixelmon community.

Can I beta test for Pixelmon?

Closed beta testing for Pixelmon with members of the general player base was attempted in the past, but it proved unsuccessful in finding significant bugs. If you would like to be a dedicated tester for beta versions of Pixelmon, you will need to have professional quality assurance experience or you will not be considered. However, it is still possible to test Pixelmon by using public release versions and reporting bugs that are encountered.

How do I submit a model for Pixelmon?

If you would like to model a Pokémon, first make sure that the model has not already been worked on by referring to this spreadsheet. Then, follow the guidelines here for making a model suitable for use with Pixelmon. You can post your model for feedback on the corresponding subforum in the Pixelmon modelling forum.