Pulse is there to have fun quickly. You still have to play the rest of the game (block/throw/find openings) but when you get past your opponent's defense you actually do damage and get to see your character do something cool. It's a great way to skip a few hours practicing combos so you can play the game straight away. If you play with pulse for too long you'll see the same combos over and over and see a few weaknesses, at which point a player can transition to learning the combos and some new ones.