Shigeru Miyamoto just had his quick congratulations/insight video for the 20th Anniversary and revealed some fun trivia. Pokemon Red & Green was in development for 6 years with delays because Nintendo was busy helping to develop Earthbound. Once Earthbound was done Nintendo and Ape (later Creature's Inc) helped GameFreak with releasing Pokemon. Miyamoto mainly helped with using the Cable Link.
I guess this is another reason Pokemon has a strong connection with Earthbound.
I guess this is another reason Pokemon has a strong connection with Earthbound.