How to make a Pixelmon server

1What a Pixelmon server needs

What a Pixelmon server needs

Pack version	9.3.16, released 5 May 2026
Minecraft	1.21.1
Loader	NeoForge 21.1.172
Java	21
Memory	4 GB, as Playkeeper suggests it
Mods on the server	13
Download	442 MB
Server files	None: servers are built from the pack itself
From	Modrinth, by Pixelmon, 2.2M downloads
Checked	28 Sep 2026, on Modrinth and with Playkeeper 0.4.3's install plan

Version 9.3.16 is the newest release on 28 Sep 2026. The 9.4 versions published since are marked beta.

2The 394 MB Pixelmon jar

The pack's own file is small. What it downloads isn't: Pixelmon-1.21.1-9.3.16-universal.jar alone is 394 MB, most of the 442 MB.

• Playkeeper 0.4.2 refused it, because it took add-on files up to 256 MiB. From 0.4.3 it takes files up to 512 MiB.
• Every file is checked against the SHA-512 Modrinth publishes before it goes in the mods folder. A half-downloaded jar never reaches the server.
• The first start takes a while: on the test server, the download and NeoForge's install took under two minutes, and the log said Done (26.349s)! after that.

3The 13 mods on the server

The pack sends every mod to the server as well as to players:

• Pixelmon itself, with Just Enough Items and JourneyMap.
• New land to explore: Terralith and Tectonic reshape the terrain, Incendium rebuilds the Nether, and Structory and Structory: Towers add ruins and towers. Lithostitched is the library they share.
• Four that change players' screens: Essential, FancyMenu, Konkrete and Melody. They load on the server without complaint, and Essential logs one harmless error line at start.

The pack also carries the Pixelmon soundtrack, a 143 MB resource pack. It's for players, so Playkeeper leaves it off the server.

4The one-click way

Playkeeper runs your server on a VPS you rent. Install it with one command:

1. 1

   Search New server › A modpack for Pixelmon

   It offers 9.3.16, NeoForge and the 4 GB it suggests, and shows the mods before anything installs.

2. 2

   Create and start it

   Playkeeper fetches NeoForge and the mods, leaves the soundtrack for players, and tells you when the server is online.

3. 3

   Send friends the pack

   Share with friends on the Mods tab makes a page with the pack and how to install it in their launcher.

The dashboard's card counts 14 mods, because it counts the soundtrack with them. The server gets 13.

5By hand, from the pack

The itzg image, which Playkeeper runs servers in too, builds the server from the pack. The command below leaves the soundtrack off, as Playkeeper does.

# Pixelmon 9.3.16 on Java 21: 4 GB in all, 2.9 GB of it Java's heap
docker run -d --name the-pixelmon-modpack -p 25565:25565 \
  --memory 4G --memory-swap 4G \
  -e EULA=TRUE -e MEMORY=2994M -e USE_AIKAR_FLAGS=TRUE \
  -e TYPE=MODRINTH -e MODRINTH_MODPACK=the-pixelmon-modpack -e MODRINTH_VERSION=9.3.16 \
  -e MODRINTH_EXCLUDE_FILES="ThePixelmonOST" \
  -v the-pixelmon-modpack-data:/data itzg/minecraft-server:java21

# Writes the server, NeoForge and the mods into ./the-pixelmon-modpack
mrpack-install the-pixelmon-modpack 9.3.16 --server-dir the-pixelmon-modpack
# Then start it with Java 21 and accept the EULA in eula.txt

Open TCP 25565 in your provider's firewall.

6Friends join with the same version

Players install The Pixelmon Modpack 9.3.16 in the Modrinth App or Prism Launcher, then join your server's address. Their copy brings the soundtrack the server leaves out.

A player on a 9.4 beta won't match a 9.3.16 server, so pick one version for everyone.