What are the Merlin Pokémon stickers?

Merlin Collections, the British sticker publisher owned by Topps, gave Europe its own Pokémon paper in 1999. Pokémon Merlin Series 1 is a set of 276 stickers: numbers 1 to 150 are the Kanto Pokédex in order, each on a background of its primary type; 82 further cards show Pokémon in scenes, many printed with one or both side borders dropped to link evolutions and types across the album page; 36 are sparkle or holo cards, twelve of them on gold; and 8 are puzzle cards that assemble into larger pictures. They were sold six to a pack, with a sticker album made for the set.

The Merlin cards are a hybrid: a sticker carried on a card. Peel it for the album and, as Bulbapedia puts it, it stops being a card. That tension defines the whole line's survival: the copies in albums were used as intended, and the copies that stayed on their backing stayed collectible. Merlin produced seven numbered series between 1999 and 2005, from 276 stickers in Series 1 down to 126 in Series 3, plus a tattoo transfer set, a mini pocket collection and a tenth anniversary set of see-through cards. The thin card stock is fragile and the line is known for damage, which is why the trademark printed on the back matters: the trademark year on the reverse is the reliable way to tell which series a loose Merlin sticker belongs to.