Flee

Flee' (also known as Run Away) is an action that commonly appears in the RPGs. It first appeared in the first Mario RPG game, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. In every game it has appeared in, Fleeing works to help avoid a battle if Mario and others are in no condition to fight. Or it is a battle not worth wasting time to fight (such as being at a high level fighting against a horde of early, weak enemies such as Goombas).

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Fleeing first appears in this game. This action can be chosen from the beginning. Mario and others can flee from almost any battle except for bosses. However, Fleeing will not always work and when it doesn't, Mario and company are left wide open for enemy attacks.

Paper Mario series
Fleeing works very the same in both Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In both games, the player must mash the A button to fill up the gauge to give Mario a better chance at escaping. However, when he does escape, he will lose coins but is able to pick them back up. Though, he'll risk re-fighting the enemy if he tries to gather back his coins. Like with SMRPG, Mario and company cannot Flee from bosses (except for Tubba Blubba in the game as, during the time, he is invincible and Fleeing is the only option). Enemies such as Amazee Dayzees and Crazee Dayzees can also Flee from battle. Tubba Blubba's Heart is the only boss in the series to Flee from a battle.