Additionally, they wanted to retain Apollo Justice as an important character, and not steal the spotlight from him, as he had already been established as a new main character. Feeling that Apollo's story had not been explored enough in the previous game, they focused on developing his character further in Dual Destinies, and added the character Athena Cykes as his junior. Yamazaki created Athena to be an active partner for Phoenix, rather than a "supporter in the background".
Furthermore, they aimed to keep Apollo Justice as a key character, avoiding overshadowing him, since he had already been introduced as a new main protagonist. Recognizing that Apollo's story had not been thoroughly explored in the previous game, they concentrated on refining his character in Dual Destinies and introduced Athena Cykes as his junior partner.