Nanny has always been a very nice and warm-hearted man, having run a mansion/retreat where sick Pokémon could go to recover. He is shown to love animals and takes care of many sick ones. When James was young, he stayed with them for weeks and often visited whenever he had the opportunity, despite his parents not approving of his trips. During those days, James never behaved improperly around him, unlike with other people, possibly due to being an orphan. When he grew up, he became a member of Team Rocket and started traveling around with Jessie and Meowth.

Later, when he heard about the mansion's existence again, he decided to visit again with Jessie and Meowth, hoping they could cure Chimecho, who had become sick while on one of his missions. However, he was worried that Nanny might be disappointed in him when finding out he is now part of Team Rocket. Thus, he decided to lie and pretend to be a CEO and convince everybody else to join in so that they could play along with him.