Nintendo often has giveaways and events that allow players to gain hard to get Poekemon. Users who have been playing since the release of the game will have a slight advantage by having these hard to gain Pokemon on their teams, which for new users will be a bit of a hurdle for multiplayer and single player.
Depending on the Pokemon one picks for their team the player is able to mix and match in order to plan ahead for what type of match they will be up against. Sometimes this takes a bit of trial and error but for the most part is a deep way to add strategy to what is basically a match 3 game.
Originally this free-to-play title was released for the Nintendo 3DS but has since been ported to mobile. The port offers better graphics over the original due to the game now being able to be played on stronger hardware with higher resolution screens. The graphics are all high res now and look quite sharp.
Indicators that pop up in the game that signal when to use a powerful strike can often be difficult to see due to the frantic swiping from the gameplay, thumbs can be in the way too easily.
there are no wait timers in the game, no second or third currency either. The whole game can be played for free with little roadblocks as the in-app-purchases are used for "essence" (the in game currency) which can purchase health potions, even though the game allows you to earn enough by little repetition.
For those looking for a nice looking game that is geared more towards casual players Stormblades is a good choice as the gameplay is very straightforward in that the game is very linear, leaving little to user choice.