I have been using irc://rizon.net as a chat server and they offer some identity management tools.
Here is some more comprehensive instructions. ircaliasing
These allow you to take ownership of a nickname and declare a virtual host.
/msg nickserv register <password> <email>
This causes rizon to send you a confirmation code and message. They send it to the email address, remember to check the junk mail box.
/msg nickserv confirm <code>
Then ask for a host alias and turn it on
/msg hostserv request toss.pot /msg hostserv on
Wonder if it works with pidgin