i've been wondering since i created an account how to get legendaries and such without having to pay a tremendous amount of coins. is there really a way to do so? or would that mean i have to get a pokemon in high demand to a high level and trade said pokemon for a legendary?

The only legendary you can catch on the maps is Regice.
You can buy some legendary pokemon in the games corner for coins, or from the auction house when someone auctions it.
Otherwise you would have to trade it from other players because they were once released as a promo in the promo center or from an event, most are quite expensive if they are not of the normal type.

Thanks Crixus91, i was wondering the same thing. +1 Thanks.