I am really against Mikroelektronika and the fact their IDE is not free,
unlike Microchip MPLAB IDE.

I would suggest Microchip ICD3, MPLAB IDE, and QL200 as development board
UNLESS that board is not using MPLAB + C18 which I don't know yet.
I just stick with manufactuer's own solutions, not Mikroelectronika and
their Basic or Pascal language.

Are you SERIOUS?
Basic is a TOY language. It's only good for non-critical and small
projects, and VisualBasic is only good for creating GUI and simple
scripts/automation.
Anything complicated written in Basic is prone to bugs and failures, it's
unfit for industrial applications.

On the contrary, C language is used to create OTHER languages and whole
operating systems and is a de-facto standard for critical apps.
It's clear why you and some others choose Mikroelektronika dev board and
their lame Basic compiler/interpreter - simplicity.

OK if simplicity is the goal and you're not a professional engineer, go with
it.

But if you want to be a professional - drop Basic for embedded design today.
Start learning C language.