Installation

If you are using Windows, you can also install Pixelmon using the Pixelmon launcher. Most of the following instructions apply to installing Pixelmon for the vanilla Minecraft launcher.

Before installation

• Be sure that you have a paid copy of Minecraft, not a cracked launcher. If you use a cracked launcher, your Pokémon will not be saved when you quit Minecraft. This bug cannot and will not be fixed.
• Do not use the Technic launcher to install Pixelmon. You will not receive a starter Pokémon, and will not be able to use Pixelmon features; this incompatibility will not be fixed. Use the Minecraft launcher or the Pixelmon launcher.
• If you are running a server, make sure that online mode is on. If you don't do this, Pokémon will be invisible to their owners. This cannot be fixed as the issue is outside of Pixelmon's scope.
• The Pixelmon jar file is universal, meaning that the same jar can be used for both client and server.
• If Minecraft is currently running, quit out of it before installing anything.

Pixelmon 5.0

• Pixelmon 5.0 runs on Minecraft version 1.10.2 with Forge version 12.18.1.2075 or later.
• Pixelmon 5.0 requires Java 8 to function; it will not run with any older versions.
• Make sure that you have at least 2 GB of RAM allocated to Minecraft. If you do not know how to do this, see this page.

Pixelmon 4.3

• Pixelmon 4.3 runs on Minecraft version 1.8.9 with Forge version 11.15.1.1902 or later.
• Pixelmon 4.3 requires Java 8 to function; it will not run with any older versions.
• Make sure that you have at least 2 GB of RAM allocated to Minecraft. If you do not know how to do this, see this page.

Pixelmon 3.5

• Pixelmon 3.5 runs on Minecraft version 1.7.10 with Forge version 10.13.4.1541 or later.
• Pixelmon 3.5 can run with Java 6, but it is highly recommended to use at least Java 7 as there are certain aspects of Pokémon battles that will not function correctly with Java 6.
• Make sure that you have at least 1 GB of RAM allocated to Minecraft. If you do not know how to do this, see this page.
• If you have previously played on Minecraft version 1.8 and are using Pixelmon 3.5, make sure that your render distance is set to 16 chunks or less. Having a render distance over this limit will cause Minecraft 1.7.10 to crash when entering a world.

Forge installation

1. Find the appropriate Forge version here. Depending on your operating system, download either the "Installer" or "Installer-win" file.
2. The downloaded file is an automatic installer; when you run it, make sure you select "client".
3. When the Forge installation is done, open the new Minecraft launcher and click "Edit Profile". Then go down to "Use Version" and click on the drop-down menu. There should be an option named after the Forge version you installed. Choose that and click "Save Profile".
4. If Minecraft loads without crashing then you have installed Forge correctly.

Pixelmon installation

1. Download the latest version of Pixelmon here.
   • Make sure that the downloaded jar file's size is around the size listed on the download page. If it is significantly smaller (e.g., 0 B), then the download was corrupted, and you should try re-downloading the file.
2. Open the Minecraft launcher, press "Edit Profile" and then "open game dir" to open your Minecraft folder, open the "mods" folder and place the Pixelmon file there. If there is not a mods folder, create a folder named "mods" in the root Minecraft directory and place the Pixelmon file inside this folder.
   • Do not extract or unzip the file.
3. Now just boot up Minecraft, and if it loads without crashing then go to the mods screen on the main menu. If it lists Pixelmon as one of the mods, Pixelmon is installed!

Troubleshooting

• If you follow the instructions above and Minecraft crashes, start by examining the crash report and this crash reading guide.
• If Minecraft never finishes loading or it is very laggy, you may need to allocate more memory to Minecraft. See Fixing memory issues for instructions about resolving this issue.
• If you still have issues with Minecraft crashing and the notes above don't contain the answer you need, try the support tracker.