Monetization can be enabled once you have passed 10K views. If you partner with Freedom you don't need Adsense but most make on for just in case they ever decide to take the road a other way.
As mentioned previous by both of the wonderful people above, yes you will need an active monetisation account (so a total of 10K views) before partnering with Freedom. You would need to pass the view threshold first, create an adsense account and then apply to join Freedom - but don't worry its well worth the wait
Also adding that the Adsense account will be obsolete once you're in Freedom!. If you have more than 10$ on the Adsense account you can close it to get that paid out.