What Are Shadow Shards in Pokemon Go?

To pacify the “enraged” state of a Shadow Raid Boss in Pokemon Go, Trainers must use Purified Gems made from Shadow Shards. Before we get too ahead of ourselves, you might have noticed multiple Raid Battles appearing at Gyms around your area. However, unlike normal Raid Bosses, it’s evident these Pokemon have been influenced by Team Go Rocket. These have emerged as a result of the Rising Shadows Event, which will last until May 28 at 8:00 p.m. local time. The bosses featured in these Raids are notably stronger than your typical Raid Boss.

How To Get and Use Purified Gems in Pokemon Go?

Getting shadow shards and purified gems from shadow raids in pokemon go — Image Source: YouTube ZoëTwoDots

A special ability Shadow Pokémon of these Shadow Raids has is becoming enraged during their Attack and Defense stats are enhanced. As a result, battling these Raid Bosses becomes a much harder endeavor, even for high-level Trainers. That’s when Pokemon Go Shadow Shards and Purified Gems come into the picture. Using an automatic Shard Refiner with Professor Willow, Trainers can create Purified Gems and “debuff” their Shadow-powered opponent.

Pokemon GO Finally Adds Master Ball to Mobile Game

There are four ways you can collect Shadow Shards in Pokemon Go:

Source	Shadow Shard Reward
Winning Shadow Raids	Multiple Shadow Shards, with ×5 as the max
Defeating Team Go Rocket Grunts	Shadow Shards ×1
Using Mysterious Components to make a Rocket Radar to find and defeat Team Go Rocket members of the three Leaders: Sierra, Cliff, and Arlo	Shadow Shards ×3
Beating Giovanni, the mastermind of the takeover	Shadow Shards ×4

Once you have an amount of Shadow Shards of four, you will receive a Purified Gem in Pokemon Go. This item will stay in your inventory like a Fruit or Potion. You can then take this Gem into a Shadow Raid Battle and remove the “enraged” buff from the boss. As long as the debuff is active, you and other Trainers will have a much easier time fighting the powerful Shadow Raid Boss.

It should be noted that a gem’s effect will stack if used by multiple Trainers. In other words, using your Purified Gems in a Pokemon Go Shadow Raid is essential, as it will always benefit the team you are with.

Since Rising Shadows features a non-stop assault from Team Go Rocket for the duration of the event, we highly recommend managing your recovery items. Whether a Pokemon loses HP or faints during a Team Go Rocket battle, the effects are not self-contained like in Great League’s PvP. Therefore, having plenty of Revives and Potions is crucial for farming Shadow Shards in Pokemon Go. Here’s a video by Poké Daxi explaining how the event works if you need further clarification: