With the addition of Shadow Raids to Pokemon GO, also comes two new items that you’ll want to get your hands on – Shadow Shards and Purified Gems.
These items are integral if you want to defeat powerful Shadow Pokemon in Raid battles, so you’ll definitely want to know how to get and use them both!
What Are Shadow Shards in Pokemon GO?
Shadow Shards are items in Pokemon GO that are used to make a Purified Gem.
Once you have obtained 4 Shadow Shards, Professor Willow uses the Shard Refiner to turn them into a Purified Gem. This is a powerful item that can help you win Shadow Raids – but more on that later.
How to Get Shadow Shards
There are two ways to get Shadow Shards in Pokemon GO:
- Winning a battle against a Team GO Rocket Grunt, Leader, the boss Giovanni.
- Winning a Shadow Raid.
The amount of Shadow Shards you get depends on how difficult the battle was. You get one for defeating a Grunt, three for defeating Arlo, Cliff, or Sierra, and four for beating Giovanni.
Find out how to defeat these dastardly members of Team GO Rocket so you can get plenty of Shadow Shards:
What Are Purified Gems in Pokemon GO?
Purified Gems are powerful items that can only be used in Shadow Raids.
When you use a Purified Gem in a Shadow Raid, it decreases the Shadow boss’ attack and defense, making it much easier to take down.
For more information on how to win Shadow Raids, check out our Pokemon GO Shadow Raids Guide!
How to Get Purified Gems
The only way to get Purified Gems in Pokemon GO is by collecting 4 Shadow Shards from winning battles against Team GO Rocket and Shadow Raids.
After you have collected 4 Shadow Shards, Professor Willow will automatically appear and turn 4 Shadow Shards into 1 Purified Gem using his Shard Refiner.
You can only hold 10 Purified Gems in your item bag, so make sure you don’t hoard too many.
How to Use Purified Gems
To use a Purified Gem in Pokemon GO, you must be in a Shadow Raid and fight until the boss gets enraged.
Then, you can press the Purified Gem button in the bottom left corner of your screen. This button also shows how many Purified Gems you have.
As the effects stack, you and the other Pokemon Trainers battling the boss can use multiple Purified Gems at once. This means that the more Purified Gems you use, the easier the battle will be!
In addition to Shadow Shards in Purified Gems, a highly-anticipated new Poke Ball has finally arrived in the game. Here’s how to get a Master Ball in Pokemon GO!