>>39180763>>39180853Any time you see the phrase "free-to-start", it means the game will eventually (and shamelessly) paywall you.
Free to play with purchasable items is different than "free-to-start", because that "start" means they know they're gonna sucker you into a stopping point unless you pay real money to continue. It's a shitty business practice that subhumans fall for every time.
And if it isn't a "you're too weak to continue! pay real money to revive/recruit better trainers!" it's a "sorry, you can only progress so far for free today so either wait 24 hours or pay money to keep going" thing. Or both.