What Other Region Could’ve been the 1st Generation? (And Still Succeed)

The Pokémon series is unquestionably one of the most successful of all time, and a big part of that is due to the original Kanto region and its Pokémon being pretty instantly iconic back in the day! But, could we have seen the same level of success with a different region at the helm, or a another roster of creatures to market? I think it's possible, but we'd have to pick the right ones! (As for when the Kanto region might show up, who knows...?)