What do Tera Shards do in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet? Explained

Following a trend in recent generations of Pokémon titles, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet for the Nintendo Switch have new battle mechanics that are exclusive to their own games. The trend started back with Pokémon X and Y for the Nintendo 3DS when they introduced Mega Evolution Pokémon. In generation seven, Pokémon Sun and Moon, Game Freak introduced the Z-Move mechanic and just last generation, Pokémon Sword and Shield, there were Gigantamax Pokémon. In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the new mechanic is Terastallization. This mechanic essentially changes the original type of a Pokémon at will. But how does one freely change the Tera type? That’s where Tera shards come in. Here is a quick guide on what Tera Shards do in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Tera Shards

As players progress through Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, they might have noticed that some Pokémon have the same Tera type as their original type, while some have completely different types, like in gym leader battles. Maybe they ran into a special Tera Pokémon in the wild that has a different Tera type from their original typing. If you’re having trouble finding a Pokémon with the Tera type you’re looking for, don’t worry; there’s a way you can change any Pokémon’s Tera type, but it will cost you.

Tera Shards are the key to changing a Pokémon’s Tera type; as players collect shards around the Paldea region, they can exchange them to make their Pokémon that specific type. For example, if a player has enough Grass Tera Shards, they can use them to make Fuecoco’s Tera type into grass-type. Players will need to collect 50 of a single Tera shard type in order to change their Pokémon’s Tera type. Once a player has enough Tera shards, they can head to the Treasure Eatery where they first face off against gym leader Larry in Medali.

As for getting Tera shards, players can randomly get them from gold speck drops around the region, but the easiest way is through Tera Raid Battles. Depending on the star difficulty, players will receive more Tera shards. This is the most efficient method of obtaining Tera shards.