What it does
Dragon Pulse is a Special Dragon-type move. 85 base power, 100% accuracy, no secondary effects. On the surface, unremarkable. In practice, its value comes from what it lacks: no accuracy variance, no stat drops, no conditions. Every use is 85 power, clean.
The comparison is always Draco Meteor: 130 power, 90% accuracy, but Sp. Atk. drops by two stages after each use. A two-stage Sp. Atk. drop is severe — it cuts your special damage output roughly in half. If you're staying in and hitting for multiple turns, the second and third Draco Meteor is doing a fraction of the first. Dragon Pulse doesn't have this problem. Turn three hits the same as turn one.
The specific mechanic for Clawitzer: Dragon Pulse is a Pulse/Aura move. Mega Launcher boosts all Pulse moves by 1.5×, raising Dragon Pulse's effective power from 85 to 127.5. That's a significant bump, and it's the reason Clawitzer in particular singles out Dragon Pulse as a preferred coverage move.
Who runs it
Serperior (60%): 75 base Sp. Atk., but Contrary inverts stat changes — so Leaf Storm's Sp. Atk. drop becomes a Sp. Atk. rise instead. Dragon Pulse fills the coverage angle: it hits types that resist Grass. If Serperior ran Draco Meteor, the Contrary interaction creates a complicated reversal of drops and raises. Dragon Pulse is just clean Dragon coverage with no stat interaction to manage.
Archaludon (46%): 125 Sp. Atk., Dragon/Steel typing. Dragon Pulse is the Dragon STAB that lets it stay aggressive across multiple turns without the Draco Meteor Sp. Atk. penalty.
Goodra (35%): 100 Sp. Atk., Dragon-type wall archetype. Dragon Pulse is the primary same-type attack option.
Clawitzer (23%): 120 Sp. Atk. and Mega Launcher. Dragon Pulse at 1.5× = 127.5 effective power. Its entire move pool is Pulse-based, making Dragon Pulse a natural fit in the coverage slot.
Appletun (30%): 110 Sp. Atk., Dragon/Grass typing. Dragon Pulse gives it Dragon STAB coverage for matchups where Grass moves don't reach.
Charizard (13%): Non-Mega Charizard running special sets adds Dragon Pulse as Dragon coverage. The Mega X form is a physical attacker, Mega Y leans into Fire — each variant plays differently.
How to use it
The decision point for Dragon Pulse versus Draco Meteor comes down to your game plan: burst damage for one critical turn, or sustained pressure across multiple turns.
For sustained pressure, Dragon Pulse is nearly always stronger over three or more turns. Turn 1 Draco Meteor: ~130 effective power. Turn 2 Draco Meteor with two dropped Sp. Atk. stages: roughly a third of the original. Three turns of Dragon Pulse at 85 each outpaces two turns of Draco Meteor followed by a badly weakened third hit.
As coverage: on Pokémon that lead with a different primary STAB (Serperior's Leaf Storm, Appletun's Grass moves), Dragon Pulse fills the gap for types that resist the main attack. It prevents the opposing team from having a safe switch-in that walls the entire set.
Tips & strategy
Sp. Atk. preservation compounds over time: Pokémon that accumulate Sp. Atk. boosts via items, abilities, or setup moves deal far more with those boosts intact. Draco Meteor erases that buildup. Dragon Pulse preserves it. On a Pokémon that's at +2 or +3 Sp. Atk., Dragon Pulse's 85 base power is hitting well above initial output — and it keeps doing so every turn.
Mega Launcher's Pulse move pool: On Clawitzer, Aura Sphere, Water Pulse, Dark Pulse, and Dragon Pulse all receive the 1.5× boost. The entire attacking move set synergizes with the ability, making Clawitzer's damage output consistently high across all coverage options.
When Draco Meteor is still the right call: If you need a single burst to KO a key target and don't plan to stay in for multiple turns, Draco Meteor's 130 power is stronger. Dragon Pulse's advantage is reliability across turns — Draco Meteor's advantage is a single massive hit. Know which situation you're in before you commit.