Alright. Call BS if you want but a few months back I started making my own pokedex of original mons. Mainly for nostalgia feels. It was set in a tropical island region called Oshan due to being disappointed that there was never a game set in the Orange Islands. Then, Sun and Moon is announced.
>Set in Alola.
>Tropical Islands.
>MFW.

Now, the starters I chose were based on some of my favorite pokemon as a kid. Tropius, Lapras, Torkoal. They would have a split evolution line based on climates. For example Tropius would evolve into Tropicone in colder climates or Tropidon in warmer climates. Then I seen the new Alola versions of Vulpix, Sandshrew, etc...

Not saying that I was first in coming up with these ideas. Just crazy how close I came to their finished product before I had any knowledge of it.