Bato


 * This article is about the character. For an episode of a similar name, see "Bato of the Water Tribe".

"water"

- You have your father's wit.

Bato was a member of the Southern Water Tribe and a close friend of Katara and Sokka's father, Hakoda. He was somewhat of a paternal figure to Katara and Sokka in their father's stead, thus he cared about their well-being.

History
Bato left the Southern Water Tribe two years before Avatar Aang's discovery there, along with the other men of soldiering age. Some time after, Bato was injured by a Fire Nation soldier and was left at an abbey while the other members of the tribe headed to the Earth Kingdom's capital, Ba Sing Se.

During their travels, Aang, Katara, and Sokka found Bato's ship on a beach. Once Bato found them camping near the vessel, Katara and Sokka were elated to be around him, feeling almost at home again in his presence and his tent, which was decorated with furnishings from the South Pole. Bato was Hakoda's childhood best friend and through him, Sokka and Katara felt a connection to their father that they had not had in years. The three talked and reminisced long into the night, leaving out Aang. Bato acted as somewhat of a surrogate father toward Sokka and agreed to take him ice dodging, since Sokka never had the chance to with his own father. He also bore news of their father, stating that he awaited instructions on how to relocate him and the other Water Tribe men and offered to at least send word to them of his location as they accompanied Aang. However, in the comfort of their reunion, Katara and Sokka began to lose sight of where they were truly needed, as Aang began to feel betrayed and alone. Although at one point Sokka and Katara opted to accompany Bato on a journey to reunite with Hakoda, the siblings soon realized their duties to Aang and parted with the tribe member.

In the spring of 100 ASC, Sokka and Katara received a message telling them that their father was, at Chameleon Bay. Sokka agreed to reunite with his father while Katara stayed behind with the Earth King. When he reached Chameleon Bay and walked into his father's tent where a war meeting was in session, Bato was seen sitting next to Hakoda and tapped him signaling that Sokka was in the room. Later, Bato was seen filling the tangle mines, as well as making mention of Hakoda's dry sense of humor and Sokka's similarity to his father.



After the Coup of Ba Sing Se, Bato and Hakoda commandeered a Fire Nation cruiser and accompanied the Avatar and his friends on their journey to the Fire Nation. He was to partake in the planned invasion of the Fire Nation.

Bato was in the invasion force during the Invasion of the Fire Nation, which intended to attack the Fire Nation Capital on the Day of Black Sun. Bato was one of the many warriors to land on the Fire Nation Capital beach and proved to be a good leader. When Hakoda was not around, Bato seemed to be the one the soldiers obeyed. When Aang failed to defeat Fire Lord Ozai, the younger soldiers were told to escape on Appa while the adults surrendered, Bato among them. Hakoda later stated that Bato and the remainder of the invasion force was sent to the Capital City Prison.

Bato was freed from prison following the Hundred Year War's end, and was present at the coronation of Fire Lord Zuko at the Fire Nation Capital.

Trivia

 * The pronunciation of Bato is similar to, the Chinese name given to Buddhist monk Buddhabhadra who brought Buddhism in 464 A.D to China and standardized the martial arts.
 * The pronunciation of Bato is similar to bateau, the French word for "boat". Seeing as he is the one that initiates Sokka to ice dodging using his boat, it is an appropriate name. It should also be noted that "Bato" is an anagram for "Boat".
 * "Bato" (pronounced with the stress on the second syllable) is "stone" or "rock" in Filipino. The ritual Sokka performed in Bato's presence involved dodging rocks (since there are no icebergs) with his ship.
 * "Bato" is also Chinese slang equivalent to "man" or "dude".
 * When Bato first appeared, he was recovering from a battle and had the majority of his torso bandaged. When Sokka saw his dad in his war tent for the first time in two years, Bato was seen standing next to him, apparently having recovered, seeing as his bandages are removed; however, his skin was still red from the burns.
 * During the invasion of the Fire Nation capital, Bato's arm was shown perfectly healed, even though it was a severe burn.
 * Bato was the tallest of the Southern Water Tribe warriors seen.
 * Bato's armor was the only Water Tribe member's who had a distinct symbol painted on his helmet.
 * Bato was one of the few people belonging to the Southern Water Tribe whose name did not have the letter "k" in it.