Pixelmon Run & Bun Rules

This mod overhauls the mechanics of Pixelmon 9.1.13 (MC 1.16.5) to create a carefully balanced, progression-based gameplay experience inspired by the design principles of Dexzeh’s Pokémon Run & Bun ROM hack.

🔧 Core Features:

Custom Battle AI
A completely custom battle AI that uses stat advantage, high-coverage movesets, status effects, hazards, and item usage. Handles many, many more unique and gimmicky strategies and formats. Battles will require good game knowledge, thoughtful preparation and planning, and constant adaptation.

Level Cap System
A level cap is enforced on your party, and Pokémon that exceed your level cap cannot be caught.

No More Grinding
Experience and EVs are reworked. EVs are completely disabled, and battles no longer grant any EXP. Pokémon can only level up through a new Endless Candy item, which respects the level cap, or a Rare Candy.

Gauntlets
Special back-to-back trainer battle sequences with restrictions on healing, item use, and party management.

Enforced Progression
A system that enforces progression. Trainer battles, loot, dialogue, and certain areas can be locked behind various progression points.

Multiplayer-Compatible Trainers
Reworks battles to be per-trainer-per-player, so multiple players can battle the same trainer simultaneously.

Multi Battles
Adds easy ways to build multi battles, including true double battles (2 trainers vs. 1) and tag battles (1v2 or 2v1).

Custom Items and Quality of Life Improvements
Portable full-party healing items, portable PCs, and reusable HMs that permanently unlock overworld features without occupying move slots. Numerous minor QoL adjustments to battles, travel, fast travel, and storage systems.

Expanded Dialogue
Greatly builds upon and expands the existing Pixelmon dialogue system. Allows for pre-battle dialogue, trainer interactions, complex multi-branch dialogues, and numerous mechanical features built into dialogue choices.

Rebalanced Economy
Money is made much more limited. A new multiplier to money rewards from battle, the Deathless bonus, has been added.

Battle Music
A system for fine control over battle and background music. Taken from PixelTweaks by StrangeOne101.

FTB Quests Integration
Direct integration for Pixelmon tasks and rewards into FTB Quests. Taken from PixelTweaks by StrangeOne101.

Modified Encounter Mechanics
Catch rates have been adjusted for most Poké Balls. Spawning systems have been heavily reworked to allow extremely fine-tuned spawns.

Location Tracking
A system for describing and tracking locations in the open world. This can describe anything from a route, city, mountain, town, building, or sea.

Reworked Abilities, Status Effects, and Field Effects
Numerous abilities, status effects, and field effects have been reworked. Weather and Terrain are now permanent; some statuses are more debilitating and useful. Various abilities have been blacklisted, tweaked, or reworked for balance.

Environment and Weather Control
Trainer battles and various parts of the overworld feature permanent field effects like weather and terrain. For example, you may encounter an actual sandstorm in a desert.

Nuzlocke Rules
A complete system to implement open-world-compatible Nuzlocke rules, covering every aspect of classic Nuzlocke gameplay: random encounters, catch locations, dupe handling, permanent death on fainting, and restarts on wipe.

Battle Info Display
Adds an in-battle GUI showing active stat changes, field effects, hazards, and transformations (such as Mega Evolution).

🎮 Impacts on Gameplay:

Increased Challenge
Battles are more difficult, requiring knowledge of type matchups, strategy, and planning. The AI uses competitive, cheesy, and niche tactics similar to human players.

Structured Progression
Players cannot obtain overpowered Pokémon and items early; most content unlocks through completing battles, quests, or reaching specific milestones.

Limited Resources
Held items, Poké Balls, money, and valuable rewards are finite, encouraging careful use of resources and thorough exploration.

Open World with Safeguards
While a world can be fully explorable, progression gates prevent sequence breaking. Players will always experience the intended difficulty curve.

Faithful to the Original Run & Bun
Mechanics, encounters, and restrictions are designed to replicate the balance and difficulty of the original ROM hack within Pixelmon.

❗ Important Note:

This mod does not include a quest system, custom map, or story content.
It only provides the core mechanical changes required to make the Run & Bun experience functional within Pixelmon.

🙏 Credits:

Dexzeh for the overall design concepts of the original Run & Bun ROM hack.
Croven, Dexzeh, and others for design concepts for the Run & Bun Battle AI.
StrangeOne101 for Battle Music and FTB Quests integrations.
Envyware for perfect IV handling spec.