What real-life places do GameFreak base their region names on?

Question

What is the correspondence between the Regions in the World of Pokémon and Real-life places on Earth?

Kanto: ?
Johto: ?
Hoenn: ?
Sinnoh: ?
Unova: ?
Kalos: ?

I know the Alola region is based on the Hawaiian Islands and comes from the Hawaiian word "Aloha".

Comments

Well, I know that Kanto is based on a location in Japan literally called Kanto.  Don't know about the others, though

Answer 1

The existing answer has some errors in it. I'll make a list here, it's almost universally accepted which areas each region is based on. Credit to Bulbapedia for this visualisation, which shows the first four regions as well as the Sevii Islands projected onto Japan.

• The Kanto region is based on the real-life Kantō region on Japan's south-east coast. Celadon City and Saffron City are apparently based on Tokyo, and Vermilion City is apparently based on Yokohama, Japan's largest seaport city. The name "Kanto" derives from 関東, meaning "east of the barrier".

• The Sevii Islands are based on the real-life Izu Islands and Bonin Islands, located off Japan's southern coast. One through Four Island are based on the Izu Islands, whilst Six and Seven Islands are based on the Bonin Islands. "Sevii" does not derive from kanji, but likely relates to "seven", since this is the number of islands in the area.

• The Johto region is based on the real-life Kansai region in Japan, located to the direct west of Kantō just like in the Pokemon games. Kyoto was likely the basis for Ecruteak City, due to the vast history that both cities have in their respective universes. Junichi Masuda claims on his blog that "Johto" means "castle palace" and "lattice-shaped palace".

• The Hoenn region is based on the real-life Kyushu region in southern Japan. The Hoenn region is rotated about 90 degrees from its real-life counterpart, so the origin may not be apparent at first. Rustboro City is probably based on Kyushu's largest city Fukuoka. "Hoenn" derives from 豊縁 which means "abundant relations".

• The Sinnoh region is based on the real-life Hokkaido region, the prominent island in the north of Japan. The region's largest city Sapporo likely inspired Jubilife City, and the Russian island of Sakhalin is almost certainly the origin of the Battle Area. "Sinnoh" apparently references "mysteries" (神奥).

Since Generation 4, the developers of Pokemon moved away from Japan and have taken inspiration from international locations for their map designs. These places are listed below.

• The Unova region is based heavily on New York City in the United States. Castelia City is a clear reference to Manhattan and the Skyarrow Bridge is likely based on the Brooklyn Bridge. The region's design does however, feature prominent differences to the industrial New York metro. "Unova" might relate to the Latin unum and nova, meaning "one" and "new" in English.

• The Kalos region is based on northern France. Lumiose City is clearly based on Paris, and the Prism Tower within it is inspired by the Eiffel Tower. Various aspects of French culture and lifestyle are referenced and reflected in X/Y's storyline and region design. "Kalos" derives from the Greek κάλλος, meaning "beauty".

• The Alola region is very clearly inspired by Hawaii, an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean and a state of the USA. The four islands of Alola each have distinct connections to the geography and culture of four prominent islands in Hawaii: O'ahu, Maui, Hawaii Island and Kaua'i. "Alola" may reference ola, Hawaiian for "life" and aloha, a traditional Hawaiian greeting.

• The Galar region is inspired by Great Britain, the main constituent territory of the United Kingdom. The region is rotated 180 degrees from its real-life counterpart, with areas inspired by England and Wales in the north and the Scotland-inspired Crown Tundra to the south. The Isle of Armor is inspired by the Isle of Man, which is another territory of the UK.

• The Paldea region is inspired by the Iberian Peninsula, which includes the real-life nation states of Spain, Portugal, and Andorra. The region is predominantly inspired by the culture of Spain, though its western areas such as Cascarrafa and Porto Marinada are clearly Portuguese-inspired. The Kitakami region appearing in the Teal Mask DLC is apparently inspired by the Tōhoku region of Japan.

Bulbapedia has a very expansive list of more individual locations within each region that may have been inspired by real-life locations, linked here.

Comments

Thanks, I appreciate it.

Answer 2

Please feel free to disagree with my answers, as these are probably wrong, but this is what I remember:

Kanto: The area around Tokyo, Japan

The Orange Islands: The Phillipenes and Indonesia

Johto: Just south of Kanto's Inspiration, around where the original capital was in ancient times

Hoenn: The Florida Keys

Sinnoh-Canada

Unova- New York City

Kalos -France (I mean, what other capital has a massive historic tower in the middle of it? What other country is so love-oriented?

Alola- Hawaii (If this wasn't you answer, then you either haven't played it, or are the most morinic man alive)

As I said, If you disagree, please tell me.

Comments

Hoenn and Sinnoh are based off of Japanese islands. Hoenn is based off of the island of Kyushu, but it's rotated 90 degrees. Sinnoh is based off of the island of Hokkaido.

---

Thanks, bro. But, can you be a little more specific with Johto?

---

Just researched and found that "Johto is based on the real Kansai region in Japan".
Source: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Johto

---

I found more on the World of Pokémon. It turns out that Kanto is based on the Japanese Chubu Region. Here is the link: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_world#Structure