---
title: Customizing Pixelmon Graphics and Display Settings
description: "From battle effects to Pokémon nameplates, graphics.yml controls much of Pixelmon's visual presentation. This guide explains how each graphics setting affects rendering, animations, display options, interface elements, and performance so you can tailor the experience for your players."
source: "https://nodecraft.com/support/games/minecraft/mods/pixelmon/customizing-pixelmon-graphics-and-display-settings"
image: "https://dynamic-assets.nodecraft.com/signedurl/w7vokBAexMnVlnMZ1Q/image.jpg?modifications=W3sibmFtZSI6ImdhbWVfYmciLCJpbWFnZV91cmwiOiJodHRwczovL2Ntcy1hLm5vZGVjcmFmdC5jb20vZi8xMzM5MzIvMjAwMHg1NTAvZGNiMGFkNjkzOC9jYXZlcy1hbmQtY2xpZmZzLXB0LTItMS0yLTAucG5nL20vIn0seyJuYW1lIjoiZ2FtZV9sb2dvIiwiaW1hZ2VfdXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9jbXMtYS5ub2RlY3JhZnQuY29tL2YvMTMzOTMyLzM3NXgxNTAvM2MxZGIyYmFiNS9taW5lY3JhZnQucG5nL20vIn0seyJuYW1lIjoiY3RhX3RleHQiLCJ0ZXh0IjoiQ3JlYXRlIHlvdXIgb3duIHNlcnZlciEifSx7Im5hbWUiOiJ0ZXh0IiwidGV4dCI6IkN1c3RvbWl6aW5nIFBpeGVsbW9uIEdyYXBoaWNzIGFuZCBEaXNwbGF5IFNldHRpbmdzIn1d&s=cdc0d61c975ad74e8a9354626aee4b0accf589fb239cd22f2e0668018fbb8386"
published: "2026-08-16T23:25:59.170Z"
updated: "2026-08-16T23:25:59.170Z"
---

# Customizing Pixelmon Graphics and Display Settings

From battle effects to Pokémon nameplates, graphics.yml controls much of Pixelmon's visual presentation. This guide explains how each graphics setting affects rendering, animations, display options, interface elements, and performance so you can tailor the experience for your players.

The Graphics section controls how Pixelmon displays Pokémon, battles, effects, nameplates, tutorials, render modes, and other visual elements. These options can improve visibility, change the game's appearance, or reduce demanding effects on player devices.

## Pixelmon Graphics and Display Settings

The settings below are listed in the same order as they appear in graphics.yml. They include Boolean toggles, distances, multipliers, render modes, and a Pokédex generation list. The Setting column shows a reader-friendly name first, followed by the matching graphics.yml key for reference.

| Setting and Config Key | Default and Accepted Values | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Render Distance Multiplier** render-distance-weight | **Default:** 2.0 **Values:** decimal number | Multiplies Pixelmon's default render distance of 64 blocks to determine how far Pokémon and related objects are rendered. |
| **Pokémon Nameplate Range** name-plate-range | **Default:** 1 **Values:** 1, 2, or 3 | Controls how far away wild Pokémon names and levels can be displayed outside battle. 1 is the closest range, 2 is farther, and 3 is the furthest. This option is client-side. |
| **Show Wild Pokémon Levels** render-wild-levels | **Default:** true **Values:** true or false | Controls whether a wild Pokémon's level appears above it. |
| **Show Wild Pokémon Names** show-wild-names | **Default:** true **Values:** true or false | Controls whether wild Pokémon nameplates are displayed. |
| **Scale Pokémon Models Up** scale-models-up | **Default:** true **Values:** true or false | Controls whether Pokémon models are rendered 30% larger than their normal scale. |
| **Show Current Attack Target** show-current-attack-target | **Default:** true **Values:** true or false | Controls whether the current attack target is shown. The default key for selecting or viewing this target is F. |
| **Draw Pokémon Health Bars** draw-health-bars | **Default:** false **Values:** true or false | Controls whether health bars are displayed above Pokémon. |
| **Limit Attack Effects to Battlers** only-show-attack-effects-to-battlers | **Default:** false **Values:** true or false | Controls whether battle attack effects are shown only to participating players and spectators. |
| **Show Advanced Battle Information** advanced-battle-information | **Default:** true **Values:** true or false | Controls whether advanced battle details, including an opponent's remaining HP percentage, are displayed. |
| **Attack Animation Display Range** range-to-display-attack-animations | **Default:** 40 **Values:** whole number of blocks | Sets the maximum distance from a battle at which attack animations are displayed. |
| **Enable Emissive Textures** emissive-textures | **Default:** true **Values:** true or false | Controls whether supported Pokémon textures can glow. This effect can cause a significant performance penalty on player devices. |
| **Emissive Texture Render Distance** emissive-textures-distance | **Default:** 32 **Values:** whole number of blocks | Sets how far away emissive Pokémon textures are rendered. |
| **Poké Ball Hand Render Mode** override-poke-balls3-d-in-hand-mode | **Default:** auto **Values:** auto, smooth, blocky, or sprite | Sets how Poké Balls are rendered while held. Auto follows the global Pokémon render type. |
| **Enable Global Wireframe Mode** global-wire-frame | **Default:** false **Values:** true or false | Controls whether Pokémon models are displayed as wireframes. |
| **Show Pokémon Bones** show-bones | **Default:** false **Values:** true or false | Controls whether the model bones used by Pokémon animations are displayed. |
| **Enable Global Pokémon Animations** global-animation-toggle | **Default:** true **Values:** true or false | Controls whether Pokémon model animations are enabled globally. |
| **Enable Global Vertex Mode** global-vertex-toggle | **Default:** false **Values:** true or false | Controls the global vertex display mode for Pokémon models. |
| **Enable Global Emissive Mode** global-emissive-toggle | **Default:** false **Values:** true or false | Controls whether Pokémon are rendered at maximum brightness through the global emissive mode. |
| **Battle Spectator Range** spectator-range-blocks | **Default:** 10.0 **Values:** decimal number of blocks | Sets how close a player must be to a battle to spectate it. |
| **Render Other Pokémon During Battle** should-render-pokemon-outside-battle | **Default:** false **Values:** true or false | Controls whether Pokémon that are not participating in the current battle remain visible during battle. |
| **Show Tutorial Toasts** should-send-toasts | **Default:** true **Values:** true or false | Controls whether Pixelmon tutorial notifications appear as toast messages. |
| **Show Pixelmon Potion Particles** potion-particles-visible | **Default:** true **Values:** true or false | Controls whether particles from Pixelmon potion effects are visible. |
| **Enable Dropped Item Beams** dropped-item-beams-enabled | **Default:** true **Values:** true or false | Controls whether dropped Pixelmon items display beams and whether dropped Poké Balls show a shadow. |
| **Enable Pokémon Editor Extra Colors** pokemon-editor-extra-color-mode-enabled | **Default:** true **Values:** true or false | Controls whether extra text colors are shown in the Pokémon Editor. Players can use F1 to toggle the mode temporarily. |
| **Global Pokémon Render Type** global-render-type | **Default:** smooth **Values:** smooth, blocky, or sprite | Sets the default rendering style for Pokémon. Individual Pokémon render settings override this value, and players can cycle the global mode with F3 + R. |
| **Pokédex TM Generations** pokedex-t-m-generations | **Default:** [9] **Values:** list of generation numbers | Sets which generations of TM information are displayed in the Pokédex. The default list includes Generation 9 only. |

## Important Graphics Setting Notes

### Client-Side Display Behavior

The name-plate-range option is specifically identified as client-side. Many other settings also change what players see rather than altering Pokémon mechanics, so test visual changes from a player client before applying them broadly.

### Performance-Heavy Effects

Emissive textures add a glow effect to some Pokémon but carry a significant performance penalty. Render distance, animation distance, model scale, and emissive texture distance can also affect how much visual work a player's device performs.

### Render Modes and Diagnostic Overlays

- Poké Ball hand rendering supports auto, smooth, blocky, and sprite modes.
- The global render type supports smooth, blocky, and sprite modes.
- Wireframe, bones, vertex, and global emissive toggles are specialized visual or diagnostic modes.

## Final Thoughts

Pixelmon's graphics settings offer a lot of control, from small interface details to major rendering changes. Test performance-sensitive options on representative player hardware and adjust one group at a time so visual improvements do not turn into a frame-rate scavenger hunt.