How to Host a Pixelmon Server

What Is Pixelmon?

Pixelmon brings the Pokemon experience into Minecraft. Wild Pokemon spawn across biomes based on their habitat type, players catch them with craftable Pokeballs, battle other trainers, challenge gym leaders, and work toward completing the Pokedex. It is the most popular Pokemon mod for Minecraft and has been actively maintained for years through the Pixelmon Reforged and Pixelmon Generations forks.

Unlike kitchen-sink modpacks, Pixelmon is a single large mod (with a few optional additions). This makes server setup simpler in some ways, fewer mod conflicts, fewer dependency chains, but the mod itself is heavy. Pixelmon has thousands of custom models, textures, and animations that need to load, plus a complex spawn system that tracks biome types, times of day, weather conditions, and more.

Choosing Your Pixelmon Version

There are two main Pixelmon distributions:

• Pixelmon Reforged, the most widely used version. As of 2025/2026, it supports Minecraft 1.20.2 on Forge. Check the official Pixelmon site for the current recommended Minecraft and Forge versions.
• Pixelmon Generations, a community fork with some different Pokemon and features. Also Forge-based.

This guide focuses on Pixelmon Reforged since it has the largest community and best documentation. The server setup process is similar for both.

Server Requirements

Forge and Java

Pixelmon runs on Forge. The specific Forge version depends on which Minecraft version Pixelmon targets, always check the Pixelmon download page for the recommended Forge build. For Minecraft 1.20.2, you need Java 17. For any version 1.16.5 or below, Java 8 is required. Match your Java version to your Minecraft version, not to Pixelmon specifically.

RAM Allocation

Player Count	Minimum RAM	Recommended RAM
1–5 players	4 GB	6 GB
6–15 players	6 GB	8 GB
15–30 players	8 GB	10 GB
30+ players	10 GB	12 GB

Pixelmon is lighter on RAM than most kitchen-sink packs because it is essentially one mod. The memory usage scales primarily with player count and how many Pokemon are spawned in the world at any given time. Servers with aggressive spawn rates or large player counts will push toward the higher end. Use the RAM calculator for a more tailored estimate.

To host Pixelmon Reforged server packs, you need Forge installed for your target Minecraft version. Pixelmon is a single mod, but it is a large one. The mod jar itself is over 500 MB because it bundles 3D models, textures, and data for hundreds of Pokemon.

Players	Minimum RAM	Recommended RAM
1 to 5	4 GB	6 GB
6 to 15	6 GB	8 GB
16 to 30	8 GB	10 GB

Pixelmon's RAM usage scales primarily with spawned Pokemon entities. Servers with high spawn rates or many active players will push toward the upper end. Use our RAM calculator for a tailored estimate.

Installing Pixelmon on Your Server

Unlike modpacks, Pixelmon does not have a traditional "server pack" download. You set up a Forge server and then add the Pixelmon mod jar to it:

1. Download and install the correct Forge server version for your target Minecraft version.
2. Download the Pixelmon Reforged server-side jar from the official site.
3. Place the Pixelmon jar file in the mods/ folder of your Forge server.
4. Accept the EULA in eula.txt.
5. Start the server.

java -Xms4G -Xmx6G -jar forge-server.jar nogui

The first boot generates Pixelmon's config files in the config/pixelmon/ directory. These files are where you will spend most of your tuning time. For a refresher on Forge server basics, see our server startup guide.

Configuring Pixelmon

Spawn Rates

The most impactful setting for both gameplay and performance is the spawn rate. In the Pixelmon config, look for spawn-related settings:

• Pokemon spawn rate, controls how frequently Pokemon spawn near players. Higher values mean more Pokemon in the world, which increases entity count and memory usage. The default is balanced for singleplayer; on a server with 20+ players, reduce this by 15–25%.
• Max spawns per player, caps how many Pokemon can be spawned around each player. Lowering this from the default helps prevent entity overload on busy servers.

Shiny Rates

The default shiny rate in Pixelmon mirrors the mainline games: roughly 1 in 4,096 encounters. Many servers adjust this to make shinies more attainable. Common community rates are 1/2048 or 1/1024. Remember that changing this affects the server economy if you allow shiny trading, rarer shinies hold more value.

Legendary Spawn Timer

Legendary Pokemon spawn on a global timer. When the timer fires, a legendary has a chance to spawn somewhere in the world near a random player. The default timer interval, spawn chance, and announcement settings are all configurable. On larger servers, you may want to increase the spawn frequency slightly so that more players have a chance to encounter legendaries during their play sessions.

Boss Pokemon

Pixelmon includes boss Pokemon, larger, stronger versions of regular Pokemon that appear as overworld encounters. You can configure boss spawn rates independently. Some servers disable bosses entirely and use them as event rewards instead.

Adding Other Mods Alongside Pixelmon

Pixelmon plays well with many server-side utility mods. Common additions include:

• LuckPerms (via SpongeForge or standalone), for permissions and ranks.
• GriefPrevention or FTB Chunks, for land claiming, since players build gyms and bases.
• Economy plugins, many Pixelmon servers have a player economy for trading Pokemon.
• JourneyMap or Xaero's Map, quality-of-life mods for navigation (server-side optional, client-side recommended).

Avoid adding mods that heavily alter mob spawning or biome generation, as these can conflict with Pixelmon's internal spawn system and cause Pokemon to stop appearing in certain biomes.

Common Issues

Texture Pack Size

Pixelmon's resource pack is large, over 500 MB of textures, models, and sounds. Players connecting for the first time need to download this. If you are using a server resource pack, be aware that the vanilla resource pack system has size limits and can be slow. Most Pixelmon servers let the client mod handle textures rather than pushing a server resource pack.

Pokemon Not Spawning in Certain Biomes

Pixelmon maps Pokemon spawns to specific biome types. If you use a custom world generator that renames or redefines biomes, Pixelmon may not recognize them and nothing will spawn there. Stick to vanilla biome IDs or configure Pixelmon's external spawn JSON files to map custom biome names to spawn pools.

Entity Count Spikes

On large servers, the combined entity count of Pokemon, players, and vanilla mobs can grow quickly. Use /pokekill (built into Pixelmon) to despawn all wild Pokemon if you need an emergency cleanup. For ongoing management, tune the spawn settings mentioned above and consider reducing vanilla mob spawn limits in server.properties since players are generally more interested in Pokemon than zombies.

Performance Tuning

Set view-distance=10 in server.properties, Pixelmon benefits from a slightly higher view distance than heavy modpacks because players need to see Pokemon spawning at a distance. However, if you have 30+ players, drop it to 8.

Use simulation-distance=6 to keep distant entities from ticking unnecessarily. This is especially important for Pokemon AI, which runs pathfinding and behavior trees every tick for every loaded Pokemon.

Set up a world border of 5,000–8,000 blocks to prevent infinite world generation. Pre-generate inside the border using Chunky to eliminate chunk gen lag during normal play.

For JVM tuning, Pixelmon does well with standard Aikar flags since it runs on modern Forge/Java versions. Check our JVM flags guide for the recommended configuration. Monitor your server with Spark to identify whether tick lag comes from Pokemon AI, chunk loading, or something else entirely. Astroworld Hosting offers Pixelmon-ready plans with the right Forge and Java versions pre-configured. For the full performance picture, see the optimization guide.

What Is Pixelmon Reforged?

Pixelmon Reforged is the community continuation of the original Pixelmon mod, which adds Pokemon to Minecraft. Players can catch, train, battle, and trade Pokemon in a fully 3D Minecraft world. The mod includes hundreds of Pokemon species, a complete battle system with moves, abilities, and type matchups, gym mechanics, and breeding. If you want to host Pixelmon Reforged server instances, you are setting up one of the most content-rich single mods in the Minecraft ecosystem.

Pixelmon Reforged runs on Forge and supports multiple Minecraft versions. The most active versions at time of writing target 1.16.5 and 1.20.1. Each version has different Pokemon rosters, features, and performance characteristics.

Installation

Download the Pixelmon Reforged mod from the official Reforged website (not CurseForge, as Pixelmon distributes through its own site). Install Forge for your Minecraft version and place the Pixelmon jar in the mods/ folder.

On first boot, Pixelmon downloads additional resource files (model data, spawn data, lang files). This requires an active internet connection and can take a few minutes. If your server blocks outbound connections, the download will fail and Pixelmon will not work. Ensure your firewall allows outbound HTTPS.

Accept the EULA, set your JVM flags, and start the server. The first startup is slow due to the resource download and Forge registry setup. Subsequent boots are faster.

Spawn Configuration

Pixelmon's spawn system is highly configurable. To host Pixelmon Reforged server worlds that perform well, you should tune spawn rates based on your player count and hardware. Key config options in config/pixelmon.hocon include:

• Pokemon.Pokemon-Spawning.maximumPokemonPerPlayer: Controls the max number of Pokemon spawned around each player. Lowering this reduces entity count and improves TPS.
• Pokemon.Pokemon-Spawning.pokemonSpawnRate: The tick interval between spawn attempts. Higher values (slower spawns) reduce server load.
• Biome-specific spawn files in config/pixelmon/spawning/: You can customize which Pokemon appear in which biomes, remove rare spawns, or add custom encounters.

Gym and Economy Setup

Many Pixelmon servers run gyms staffed by NPCs or players. Pixelmon includes NPC trainers, gym leaders, and shopkeepers that you can place and configure. Use Pixelmon's in-game NPC editor to create gym challenges with specific Pokemon teams, difficulty levels, and rewards.

For server economy, Pixelmon integrates with sidemod plugins that add shop systems, auction houses, and currency. Popular additions include PixelmonEconomyBridge for Forge economy integration and Reforged-specific sidepacks for breeding helpers and IV/EV displays.

Performance Optimization

Pokemon entities are the main performance concern when you host Pixelmon Reforged server environments. Each spawned Pokemon has AI, rendering data, and stat tracking. On busy servers, entity counts can climb quickly. Monitor with Spark and watch for entity tick times in the profiler output.

Pre-generate your world with Chunky to avoid combining terrain generation with Pokemon spawning. Keep the server view distance at 8 or lower. If TPS drops below 18, reduce the max Pokemon per player and increase spawn intervals.

For a different Pixelmon setup approach, see our RLCraft hosting guide for comparison on Forge server management. If you want to pair Pixelmon with additional mods, our adding mods guide covers the process.

Looking for modpack-ready hosting? Astroworld Hosting offers NVMe SSD, up to 96 GB RAM, and the Pterodactyl panel on every plan. See modpack hosting, plans from €6.39/mo.

Questions about Host a Pixelmon Server

What exactly is Host a Pixelmon Server doing here?

Wild Pokemon spawn across biomes based on their habitat type, players catch them with craftable Pokeballs, battle other trainers, challenge gym leaders, and work toward completing the Pokedex.

What should Host a Pixelmon Server measure out at?

The mod jar itself is over 500 MB because it bundles 3D models, textures, and data for hundreds of Pokemon.

What is the first step for Host a Pixelmon Server?

Download and install the correct Forge server version for your target Minecraft version.

Which command does Host a Pixelmon Server use?

Wild Pokemon spawn across biomes based on their habitat type, players catch them with craftable Pokeballs, battle other trainers, challenge gym leaders, and work toward completing the Pokedex. This guide uses Pokemon spawn rate.

How do the choices in Host a Pixelmon Server compare?

For 1–5 players, the table on this page lists Minimum RAM: 4 GB, Recommended RAM: 6 GB.

What should you avoid while doing Host a Pixelmon Server?

Avoid adding mods that heavily alter mob spawning or biome generation, as these can conflict with Pixelmon's internal spawn system and cause Pokemon to stop appearing in certain biomes.