Have you played any RPGs other than Pokemon? If so, could game freak learn any lessons that are relevant to Pokemon by playing these RPGs? Also, would you recommend any of them to Pokemon fans?

Hrm.  Well, I’m a big fan of BioWare’s CRPGs; I’ve had a lot of fun with the Baldur’s Gate series, Neverwinter Nights, and Knights of the Old Republic.  I’ve also had some experience with Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls series, and have been spending far too much time lately playing Skyrim.  I think these games can potentially provide a lot of nice examples of how to tell a story through the medium of a video game, and how to craft a markedly less linear plot – with the caveat that what Pokémon is trying to do is, in many ways, quite different, in terms of both the overall tone and outlook of the setting, and the inherent requirements of the gameplay mechanics.