>>29513382Probably didn't want to fabricate more assets than they needed, and I don't know if there were size constraints that would have affected the idea. Sevii islands were basically asset flips to make a Johto-lite that gave people something new to explore without much investment.
Plus maybe they worried it would undercut Johto remakes if they were considering them that far back.
And you have to consider purists shitting themselves over changes in the games. I still remember some people being mad on Serebii at the time because the E4 teams changed to non-Kanto pokemon for subsequent fights. Doubt it'd hurt sales too much but people are dumbasses.
