Do you think Gamefreak went overboard on real world references for Gen 8 and 7? I mean, Gen 1-4 are based on Japanese regions and USA for Gen 5, but they just took inspirations from those places and made something new out of it. Meanwhile SwSh are constantly reminding the player that SwSh is based on the UK, mainly London, by putting non-stop references in the game. From the starter's evo themes and their signature moves, Football Stadiums and Hooligans, Nobles, Galarian Weezing, etc...
I'm not saying it's completely wrong and if that's the path Game Freak wants to take for future Pokemon games, so be it. But I still prefer an original setting for Pokemon games instead of a copy of real places but with a Pokemon brand slapped on it.