I'm putting together a collection of circuits for the PIC programmer 13volt VPP supply.
I'm going to prototype a charge pump and a boost converter. The boost converter will be able to make lots of voltages, up to hundreds of volts, but I plan to clamp it at <20 with a zener. I'm also going to try making the boost converter with a BC547 transistor instead of a FET, because the PIC is only 3.3volts and most FETS want 5v for full-on.
make sure you check out the schematic for the pickit2. i think from memory its in the back of the manual.
It looks like the PICKIT2 uses a small boost converter.