<p>An analysis of the electro-physical characteristics of the discharge in pulsed metal vapor lasers has been conducted. The greatest attention has been paid to the initial period of the pulsed discharge development. The basis of this analysis is a series of results obtained under typical operating conditions of metal vapor lasers. It has been shown that the inversion formation model used up to now is applicable for analyzing processes in gas-discharge tubes with electrodes located in the hot zone of the discharge channel. Moving the electrodes to the cold buffer zones results in the emergence of a preparatory pumping stage, during which the capacitive components of the discharge circuit are charged, accompanied by the population of lower laser levels in the active medium, energy expenditure on charge displacement current, and the formation of a phantom current. The mechanism of phantom current formation and its role in limiting the energy characteristics of the laser have been considered, and a hypothesis has been proposed regarding the possible transition process from the preparatory stage to the pumping of the active medium.</p>