I'm just curious about what the perks of the membership are. Also what do the two different tools do.

Not sure what the tools do, but the membership allows you to get increased xp (50%) and access to more pokemon earlier in the game.

If I decide not to buy a membership, other than leveling slower, is there another disadvantage to not having a membership. Or can someone without a membership do the same and get the same things as someone with a membership?

Moved to the proper section. Here's all the benefits of membership :

112861 is there another disadvantage to not having a membership

It will be longer to level up and gather money but members too need to farm a lot so no you can do the game without it but member status gives you a lot of really good advantages (the mount quest is now open for both member and non member)

112861 If I decide not to buy a membership, other than leveling slower, is there another disadvantage to not having a membership. Or can someone without a membership do the same and get the same things as someone with a membership?

 

You can beat the game completely without ever donating for membership.

 

Other than the bonus EXP & Money, some of the members-only perks are pretty neat, though.

 

Members have the opportunity to see additional Pokemon on maps. These are represented by the purple question mark on each route. A common example is that members have the opportunity to catch Shinx on Route 1, whereas non-members would have to wait until Johto to find this Pokemon.

 

The Sevii Islands and the members-only section of the Safari are two maps which are only accessible by members.

112861 is there another disadvantage to not having a membership. Or can someone without a membership do the same and get the same things as someone with a membership?

I generally think that playing without membership will give you an enjoyable experience, but other than the 50% Bonus EXP and 2x Money and such, donating to the "PROject" hehe will allow the developers to pay for more/better servers. This will mean you wont have to wait for 40 minutes every time you want to play, but all in all its down to you. If you want a free but enjoyable experience then just play and don't donate. But if you want a more enjoyable experience right now and possibly a better one in the future, donate and most importantly, have fun!