As a general rule, I don't use legendaries. In-game or in a more serious, competitive battle. Except Phione, and even then, nobody seems to be able to agree whether it's actually a legendary or not. The only exception I make is if the legendary in question is that area's first encounter when I'm doing a Nuzlocke. And it's happened- I did add Hotwings the Moltres to my team in my Yellow Nuzlocke, albeit extremely late in the storyline. Also, I tend to stay the hell away from in-game trades because nine times out of ten, I hate their nicknames and the fact that I can't change them, to say nothing of the risk of overtraining them to the point where they start to disobey.
Other than that, though, I'm open to pretty much anything. Using Unown in-game? I've tried it before, and with a little patience and some luck with the Hidden Power type, it's generally not as bad as one would fear it to be. Nothing spectacular, of course, but it's not complete garbage, either. And in Red/Blue, I've actually used the Mew Glitch to get stuff for in-game use such as Lickitung (no in-game trade for me, remember), Gengar (if I still have a game link cable anywhere, I have no clue where it is, so I can't just evolve a Haunter), and even Missingno. itself. I've gotten that thing as early as just before Cerulean Gym (I know you can get it with the Special stat of Misty's Starmie, but some of the wild Abra on Route 25 will work as well), and used it in-game. Due to its crappy defenses and Speed, it's a considerable challenge, but my perseverance pays off in the end when I teach it stuff like Hyper Beam, Earthquake, and Rock Slide. Hell, in Yellow, right now, I have a Lickitung and an Onix in my team, and I just reached Indigo Plateau. But if you want something that'll top all of that, I beat Alpha Sapphire with a team of Sunkern, Nosepass, Luvdisc, Feebas, Happiny, and Farfetch'd. No evolving, no Egg moves, but for the sake of the point I was making, I did take advantage of the other conveniences the game offered (Exp. Share, Pokémon-Amie bonuses, easy Lucky Eggs from wild Pelipper, etc.). And it was easy! I only needed to use one Revive, and it was against the Champion!