I was laid off and was looking is an acceptable answer. Discretionary quitting and shitting on your prior employer is a red flag.
Larger companies' hiring process is all about de-risking you and screening out problems. They can only de-risk so much based on a resume, and it's more rare to have someone with 10+ years and zero gaps.
If a job candidate responded that they spent time between jobs playing TOTK without some levity layered on, I'd be concerned and ask further questions to see if they're a flight risk or in the right head space to join my team.
It's a yellow flag to me.
