Amid global energy transition, electrical pulse fracturing has emerged as a key technology for environmentally sustainable development of unconventional oil and gas resources,as it uses controllable shockwaves generated by high?voltage pulse discharge to construct multi?scale fracture networks and achieve efficient rock fragmentation. This study focuses on the rock?breaking mechanisms and numerical simulation of electrical pulse fracturing. The principles of pulse discharge and energy conversion processes are systematically analyzed, with an equivalent model established between discharge?induced shockwaves and TNT explosion shockwaves. The fracturing mechanisms?including shear, cavitation, tensile effects are elucidated for sandstone and shale reservoirs, and the attenuation of fracturing efficacy with increasing distance is quantitatively evaluated. Using TNT explosion simulations performed on the Autodyn platform and damage monitoring in sandstone and shale, lithological parameters are found to critically govern shockwave energy attenuation paths and damage patterns. Specifically,sandstone reservoirs require pulse energy optimization to activate multidirectional fracture networks, whereas shale reservoirs call for distance modulation to guide the propagation of dominant fractures.