Acording to GF hoenn itself was a little further then other regions, so yes shanghai is by that far away from other regions.
You forgot
雷影 イチロs (xD) kurimiri reference to the silkworm, which is a chinese bug. And now, why would there be a chinese bug, a chinese mythical beast, dragon that represents chinese view of the world, yin-yang in NYC
Yes there is also a question why would there be a football player in china, but chinese people too play football, i know its not common it there, b
ut still i dont see chinese bugs and foxes in america.
EDIT: oh kirby also, as mars mentioned for zebras, zebras are only found in southeast asia and africa, which once again asks, why would there be zebras in NYC when they are exclusive to asia.